Bukit Saga is located in the middle of Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, about 20 km from my Subang Jaya home.
We were looking for a place to do a quick hike before the Ramadhan month started. Since Bukit Saga was the nearest, we decided to give it a try. Expect lots of uphill steps along the trek and please use any hiking app on your phone to guide your way deeper into the jungle as the routes were not properly marked.
I use my Kommot app to guide my way along the trek.
Location: Bukit Saga at Cheras/ Ampang, Kuala Lumpur
How to go: Waze for “Bukit Saga Hiking Trail”
Attraction: You can hike up to Bukit Saga Summit or continue your hike to the waterfall. It is just a small waterfall.
Difficulty: Not for beginners. The trail is moderately tough, steep and slippery, especially during the rainy season.
Distance out and back: Estimated 6.61 km in total. Trek A-B-D-Waterfall trek-Trek C
Time spent: Half-day hike
Caution: Slippery and muddy during the rainy season
Tips: This place is very crowded during the weekends and public holidays. The best time to enjoy this place is during weekdays.
Leech level: A lot
Entrance Fee: none
Bukit Saga waterfall.
March 26, 2022
There’s no better way to spend a bonding time with your children than to spend an adventurous moment with them while hiking together and being surrounded by nature.
Waze for the ‘Bukit Saga hiking trail’ and you’ll reach a residential area next to a small hill in Cheras. It is hard to find a parking space here and the roads in between houses are tightly small, but there is a small parking zone 300m from the trailhead, park your car there and walk towards the entrance stairs.
The Komoot app is very helpful as it would guide you from the trailhead to multiple tracks that you could choose from; Track A, B, C or D. The trails lead to Bukit Saga Top, Station 6, and the Bukit Saga waterfall. Be extra careful when you are on the trail, choose well-known trails instead of some random ‘your own’ trail. I recommend that you download the app first and study the routes before you start your hike.
We have Qisya (14), Arissa (13), and Fasha (10) joining us for the hike. They were complaining along the way but were thrilled to reach the Bukit Saga waterfall. Hiking with children is different as they get bored easily. To create a memorable hiking experience for the children, I need to continuously simulate their curiosity along the walk and motivate them to complete the trail.
A favourable experience would generate a positive mindset for young children.
What did I pack for this trip? Especially when you have children in the group
- Packs of delicious nasi lemak. Extra food (for backup) especially for the children
- Water bottle for each of us. Extra water (at least 1 litter for backup)
- A headlamp
- A walking stick
- A small towel to dry yourself after a quick dip in the water
- A set of dry clothing
- A good hiking shoe
- A fully charged handphone with the Komoot App installed
- A small camera
- First aid kit
We started early in the morning and expected to complete the trail before 1 pm (1.5 hours -45 mins -1.5 hours). I promised the kids that we would hang out at Mamak place for lunch and that they could order anything that they wanted as a reward for today’s accomplishments.
Things didn’t work according to our plan, I had miscalculated the ‘unfitness’ level of one of my team members. The total distance was only 6.6 km but the steep uphill and downhill trek along the trail required a well-build hiker (not for beginners) to complete the trail on time. We wasted our time on long breaks in between our hikes (waiting for her to recover) and ended up dragging our time until the late afternoon (3:30 p.m.). At the last hour, we emptied our water reserve, we were way past our lunchtime, and the kids were dehydrated, exhausted and starving.
Lesson well learned.
A complete opposite of my earlier plan. Excellent experience for the kids, right?
The first 600m of the trail leads to the Bukit Saga top, it was a continuous and tiring uphill ascent. The hilltop area was interesting for the kids. There were swings, hammocks, sitting areas, and information boards for those who wanted to hang out there. We followed Treks A and B to reach the summit then Trek D to the waterfall trek. We reached a serene camping area next to a small river in the middle of Trek D.
The steeply descending trek leading to the waterfall was challenging for beginners, and going uphill on our way back was a challenge too. When we were there the trail was a bit rundown with some fallen branches and loose tree trunks scattered around the forest bed. It must be the leftover from the recent heavy downpours (prolonged monsoon season) that we have experienced lately.
I could see traces of “kepala air” (water column) in some parts of the forest areas and I saw a few loose chunky tree trunks on top of the waterfall too. Scary huh? I concluded that it is not safe to hike in this area during monsoon season. Safety is crucial when you are hiking deep into the forest.
There are so many stories to tell from this small hill next to our Kuala Lumpur metropolitan city, lol.
Some tips to create a memorable hiking experience for young hikers:
- Take it easy. Allow extra time while on the trail. Guide them on the importance of managing time while on the trail but don’t push them around. Let them take the lead and give them the opportunity to study the trails
- Let them explore nature. Tell nature-related stories to them while walking. Show them the trees, the rock, the animals, the view, the trails etc. Make some short videos about them enjoying nature while hiking, they’ll love it.
- Teach them about safety. Keep on reminding them of the importance of safety while on the trek. Guide them on what to do and what not to do in the forest.
- Keep them motivated. Not only hiking is the cheapest way of exercise but it also helps build confidence, especially for young teenagers. But they need constant motivation while on the trail as they get bored easily.
- Reward them. Always reward them for their achievements.
This hiking spot located at the edge of Hutan Simpan Bukit Sungai Putih (Ampang side) has other interesting trails to explore. They have Ah Pek Hill trail, Ah Meng trail and MRT trail. Maybe I should explore the rest of the trails and write another story about it.
I highly recommend you explore all the trails available in this area, a good training ground for those who are keen on improving their hiking fitness but please avoid hiking here during the monsoon season.
Wokay, I’ll see you on my next adventure.
Cheers
MM
MATSUDA MASHIMARU 
Assalamualaikum
Chance upon your article after i just came back there last Sunday
Not sure about your hiking experience but u mentioned emptied drinking water n exited late afternoon, OMG this is a serious mistake on hiking especially to places that not familiar (first time), but Thanks God at least you were guide by a hiking apps(downloaded b4 hand), thats excellent
To me(learn from Google n own experiences), few essential(emergency usage) items that we hiker need to hv in our backpack are(all this r my personal view) : 1) “extra” food n drink – u should only touch tis during emergency 2) headlamp – u almost needed tis on your trip 3) whistle 4) raincoat 5) emergency blanket 6) basic first aid kit
All tis r lightweight (except drink) n cheap too, but life saving if not for ourself but others who v come across during our hike
Very sorry for the nagging…
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Waalaikum salam warahmatullah.
I totally agree with you. That was my mistake during that trip and I learned it well. And, I meant to share it with everyone too. That was the first time and the last that I hiked with a person who are not fit for hiking. She was and still is not doing any workout until today. That day we have to wait for her in the forest until 3pm … pushed her up and down the track to get back to our car he he he. But … at least she agreed with us that hiking is not for her.
Thank you so much for nagging. Al least we are having a conversation here. Thanks for reading too.
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I need to add on the extra food and drinks too in my list to bring for hiking … a good backup in case that we wandered off the trail aka getting lost. Thanks for the reminder!
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