Summary
Height
Gunung Kenderung standing 1220 meter and Gunung Kerunai - 1000 meter situated in Kampung Pahat, Gerik, Perak. 300km plus from Kuala Lumpur, a 4 hours journey.
Both mountains situated side by side and most hikers will conquer these 2 mountains at one go with 2 days and one night camping.
Distance:
The distances of both mountains are not much different, depending on which part you choose as a starting point.
Kerunai - from Simpang Y - almost 2km
Kerunai - from campsite - 3.8km
Kenderung from Simpang Y - 2.1km
Kenderung from Campsite - 1.8km
* the distances may have variances (plus minus)
illustration above is an estimation on the destination from relevant point
Duration of Hike:
Mount Kerunai - around 2 hours up, 1 hour descending
Mount Kenderung - around 3 - 4 hours up, 2 hours descending
Trail Difficulty :
Kerunai - Easy to moderate
Kenderung - Moderate to hard to Extreme
Permit from forestry department is needed for every purpose of hiking, so make sure to get approval beforehand. Permit is around RM13 per pax excluding administrative fees which is quite cheap.
Pick up Truck or 4 wheel vehicle Service is needed to bring you at the starting point, around 30 minutes journey. The cost per head is around RM25 to RM30 for return trip.
* for 4 x 4 service and Permit application please contact En Syaiful 0195233768
Accommodation:
Gerik town - plenty of cheap hotel. 20 minutes from Gerik town to Kampung Pahat.
Food :
Gerik town - so many of them. please restock and refuel here
Entrance Fee;
Every hiker need to pay an entrance fee to the village community organizer at RM5 per person.
The Entrance Gate
The entrance gate is controlled by the village folks. It will closed at midnight and re-open for business around 5.00am daily. Pre-arrangement is needed, normally by the 4 x 4 operator.
The Step by Step;
After you obtain the permit and made arrangement with the 4 x 4 provider, you will rendezvous at the 4 x 4 house. There, the 4 x 4 will call the person who will check the permit and you may pay the entrance fee.
GPS coordinate Kampung Pahat :
Kampung Pahat Meet up point gps coordinate : 5.498048, 101.115539
Tips : 1) wear glove - for the rope, holding tree branches
2) Bring 1 liter of water supply to kerunai (ultra light
daypack)
3) Bring 2 liter of water supply to Kenderung (you may refill
at the campsite before hiking Kenderung
4) Wear long sleeve and cap with flap to beat the heat on
the way to Kenderung
5) avoid bring unnecessary load - especially excessive
drinks and food. You don't need that for less than
2km distance
The Plan
We will hike Kerunai first as it is the easiest and hoping to catch the sunrise here. Then, hiking Kenderung with all our might and try to sustain the heat. Watching for sunrise from Kenderung is not possible as the journey may took longer and chances we might miss the sunrise in action is rather high.
The Hike
We decided to make this trip a daypack as based on estimation of the distance, it could be done within half a day. Our plan is to start around 5.00am to catch the sunrise at Kerunai, however, the whole process of waiting for the person in charge to open the gate and checking of permit, made us reached the campsite around 6.45am.
The journey via 4 x 4 from where we parked our car was around 30 minutes to the campsite.
The Map of Kerunai can be found here : Kerunai GPX File. Downloaded to my suunto ambit 2 wrist watch to assist in the navigation.
Reaching the campsite and we straight went to Simpang Y - almost 900 meters from the campsite.
There are 2 ways to Simpang Y,
- route no. 1 is, you may follow the 4 x 4 track which is 900 meters away OR
- you can use route no. 2, which is near the stream, where the water pipe is flowing which is much shorter route, 20 - 30 minutes - 400-500 meters :
This is the way to simpang Y. Just climb up following the water stream, then turn right
Another angle from the entrance to Simpang Y. The foreground is the campsite
This is Simpang Y
From the entrance from the campsite below, you will emerge from the way I pointed out.
On the right is the entrance to Kerunai
(This photo was taken on our way down from Kerunai)
After almost 30 minutes of hiking Kerunai, we reached at one point where we can view clearly the sun is rising with a sea of clouds covering the valley. The view was magnificent!
Done!
From Simpang Y to Kerunai Peak
Distance - around 2km (from Simpang y)
Distance from Campsite using 4 x 4 road - 3.88km
Duration - 2 hours from Campsite (ascending), 48 minutes descending to Simpang Y
Trail condition : dry
Trail difficulty - easy to moderate
Caution! : many black ants at the branches here, be careful on the trees
Reached Simpang Y from Peak of Kerunai in 47 minutes. Piece of cake
To Kenderung Peak is another 2.11km from Simpang Y
Back at the campsite. Go straight to the entrance of Kenderung
Another part of the campsite
Camp Solar - 780 meters from the Peak of Kenderung
Photo taken from our way down from the peak.
Took us 26 minutes to reach here.
There is telecommunication line here.
Can you spot me? This is the extreme part of the hike
Done! Kenderung Peak
Distance from Simpang Y to Kenderung Peak : 2.11km
Duration ascending: 4 hours (slept and rested at few sections..haha)
Trail condition : dry
Trail difficulty : moderate - Hard - Extreme
Duration descending : 1 hour 45 minutes
Caution! : Scorching hot! Technical climbing using rope. Falling rocks. Danger while descendingTips : wear glove and let it slide while holding the rope, it will make your descending faster.
Safely reached the campsite at 3.42pm. Started descending from Kenderung peak around 2.30pm.
Distance Kerunai and Kenderung - 11km
Duration overall - 8 hours 45 minutes
There is no telecommunication lines at the campsite. You need to walk a bit towards simpang Y to get that line (as indicated in my drawing above).
We got the news from other hikers who just came in that the 4 x 4 unable to reached the campsite due to slippery hill. So, we decided to walk towards simpang Y and make that call. Our driver was waiting for us just below Simpang Y to fetch us. Yay!
Based on the above walkthrough, readers would be able to arrange, estimate and properly plan their journey thus, making their safe journey in conquering both Kenderung and Kerunai.
Until me meet again.
