Photography by Cheok Hor.
Bukit Mertajam is a difficult but definitely worthwhile hike.
You can see its distinctive peak with its radio towers from miles away, jutting up from the lowlands. Easily visible even from the island, Bukit Mertajam is 545m above sea level. It sits in Seberang Perai’s 37ha Bukit Mertajam Forest Park a few kilometres outside the town of the same name.
The tarmac road to the summit begins at the park’s car park on Jalan Kolam and can be hiked in just over an hour. But hiking (or cycling) up to the top this way is boring and very hot. There is little shade and the heat reflects from the black surface. So with an expert guide, Fisol, we decided to take a longer, more difficult and much more interesting route.
At the entrance to the Forest Park there is a small recreational area, with rocky swimming pools and kiosks selling fruit and tea. From here there are perhaps dozens of different hikes around and up to the top of the hill, but none of them are clearly marked. We set off on a gentle uphill path through the huts opposite the food kiosks. The path is not signposted but, strangely, there are lampposts stationed at intervals beside it.
