The aerial view from the peak of Bukit Berekeh during sunrise is grand.
Bring your drone and enjoy the 360-degree view of five (5) hills lined up and surrounded by thick morning clouds aka ‘awan karpet’. The track is not that hard. Based on my ‘relaxing’ hiking experience, the trail should fit for beginner and moderate hikers. The challenge is not the trail but the effort you need to gather and pursue hiking as early as 3 to 4 am, as you need to reach the peak of Bukit Berekeh before the first glimpse of the morning light appears on the horizon.
- Location: Bukit Berekeh, Sungai Siput, Perak (454 m)
- How to go: Waze for Bawong Sentral, Sungai Siput, Perak
- Attraction: Gorgeous sunrise view of 5 hills with carpet clouds
- Difficulty: Beginner and moderate
- Distance out and back: Approximately 5.3 km out-and-back trail
- Time spent: Half-day trip. 2-3 hours to reach the peak depending on your fitness levels
- Caution: The hiking trail is an open area with no trees/ shading. Expect the heat if you decide to hike here during the daytime.
- Tips: Reach the peak before sunrise
- Leech level: None
- Entrance Fee: None
- Hiking date: 25 January 2024
Ten (10) of us travelled in four separate cars from different places in Kuala Lumpur. We gathered at our meeting point at R&R Tapah and drove to Bawong Sentral, Sungai Siput, Perak. We reached Bawong Sentral at 3.00 am, parked our cars, and prepared our hiking gear.
We planned to start our hike at 4.00 am to catch the sunrise.
The hardest part was going hiking at 4:00 am with no sleep for the past 24 hours. Ten of us jumped into our cars at 8:00 pm after work, drove to our meeting point, and started hiking at 4:00a.m. It felt like we were sleepwalking. To make things worse, the rain started pouring as we walked out of the parking lot.
It took us 15 minutes to walk from the Bawong Sentral parking area to the ‘Bukit Berekeh starting point’. You have to walk across a palm oil plantation for at least 45 minutes to reach the start of the Bukit Berekeh hiking trail. Use your Waze, Google Maps, or Komoot app to spot the “Bukit Berekeh starting point” and study the trail properly before starting your hike. The trail is easy to navigate unless you are hiking at night during heavy rain. I tried to avoid wandering off the trail by relying 100% on the hiking app ( I use Komoot App).
I was unsure if we were illegally passing through the palm oil plantation (privately owned) to reach the Bukit Berekeh hiking starting point. There is no signage at the entrance or information available on the internet about acquiring any permission or permit needed to hike Bukit Berekeh. I have asked a few local guides about the hiking permit but none could confirm.
So we proceeded cautiously.
Thank God that we were well prepared for the rain.
The trail was sandy and rocky with some loose stones. Some of us skidded a few times as we slowly walked up and down the five hills in the dark before we reached the last peak, Berekeh Hill. We were lucky as the landscape view from the peak that morning after the rain was as beautiful as we had expected. Nature has always had its own way. The sun appeared for less than 30 minutes before it shyly hid behind the thick clouds. It could have been a perfect A+ view but we can’t control nature.
It was a cold and wet morning. As the sun rose we were presented with a green gloomy landscape filled with thick clouds. Or was it just after rain mists, I am not sure which was which?
Tbh, I have seen the best mountain views in Nepal and have been hiking since my teenage years. With nature anything is possible. I could not promise a perfect landscape or a gloomy hazy scene on your hike as it all depends on your luck or rezeki. You can’t control nature but you can control how you want to respond to it.
Instead of focusing on the destination, I choose to macro-focus on the journey.
The journey is the one that we need to prepare and focus on. My hiking trip to Bukit Berekeh might be just a teeny weeny story compared to the courageous story of hiking to Mt Everest in Nepal or Mt K2 in Pakistan, but each of us has to start somewhere, right? At least we put the effort to move our butts off the cosy chair in front of the tv and had our precious hours perfecting something that we loved rather than just ‘sour grape-ing’ on others’ life.
Am I right or am I right?
We walked through the heavy rain in the wee hours to watch the sunrise at Bukit Berekeh. We laughed each time one of us skidded down the trail due to loose stones. We had our quick energy refilled aka ‘roti gardenia’ break dipped with the rainwater. We performed our morning/ Subuh prayer on top of a hill together as a jemaah/ group. We scattered around the peak doing our things; wefies, selfies, reels, flying drones, and creating memories. The young ones in our group cried in ‘agony’ as they pushed themselves in and out of the trail, in the rain. All of these enriching moments are so-called life experiences. The opportunity to FEEL.
It always feels good to be able to FEEL.
What do you need to prepare for this hike?
- Try to reach Bawong Central before 12 a.m. Arrange your arrival at the parking area early so that you can sleep and rest before your 3 a.m. walk. Yes, Bawong Central has a spacious parking area and toilets too. Bring your own water for washing because the last time we were there the toilets had no water.
- Bring food and enough drinking water. I don’t know about you but I tend to get super hungry early in the wee hours. The tummy needs a light refill at every stop, especially during early morning hikes.
- Prepare for the rain. Our tropical weather is more unpredictable now than before. Bring a disposable raincoat, a waterproof hat, and a torchlight. Wear the right shoes (waterproof hiking shoes) for hiking in the rain. Fully charge your handphone and bring along a small power bank (just in case). Download and follow the hiking trail app diligently.
- Research about the area. Do your research about the trail and the surrounding area of Bukit Berekeh so that you’ll be prepared for any circumstances. A week before our hike, I stumbled upon an article from the news on the internet about the locals encountering a roaming tiger around the area. Discuss with your team members and ensure everybody understands the importance of walking in a big group, especially at night.
We strolled down the trek back to the starting point on an auto cruise, reminiscing about our struggles hiking up and down in the dark (in the early morning) under the heavy rain. Hiking down was not as easy as we thought because we could see our trail clearly; the cliffs, the loose stones, the steep track, the bushes behind the palm oil plantation, and the numbness due to lack of sleep.
We reached Bawong Sentral at around 10 a.m. We had a quick breakfast and our toilet breaks before driving off to our next hiking destination, a 4-hour (291 km) drive to Bukit Kodiang aka Bukit Mok Cun (140 meters) in Kedah.
On to the next post. If you have any comments or wanted to share your view, please feel free to leave your message below.
Thank you for reading.
Cheers
MM
MATSUDA MASHIMARU 
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