The Lily Pond Circular Walk is one of the most attractive and accessible hikes in Penang, and takes only a couple of hours even at our slow pace. For this reason it is one we come back to again and again. Recently we did the walk when my 69-year-old father was visiting us for a couple of weeks. He hikes regularly in the UK and is fit and healthy, but we didn’t want him to expire as a result of the heat and humidity, so a shorter hike than usual seemed to make the most sense.
The trail starts at the main entrance to the Penang Botanic Gardens. We turned right and walked until we reached the orchid house, (which was closed as usual), and followed the path on our right, signposted to the Lily Pond. The Lily Pond has always been my favourite spot in the Botanic Gardens – peaceful, beautiful and shady – but until we started our hiking adventures, I had never noticed the signs tacked to a tree: to Mount Olivia, 46 and 84. These signs and quite a lot of others on the paths around this side of Penang Hill are marked LYK. LYK, sometimes known as Forest Lim, a keen hiker, marked out many trails a few years ago. Sadly the signs are already suffering from the weather and some are quite difficult to read now.
