Chiling Falls Expedition

It was a dark (and rainy) Saturday morning when rinnah popped out of bed for her long awaited trip to Chiling Falls. (Call me unimaginative if you must, but I was greatly taken with the idea of this trip since reading about it here. Heh. The persuasive powers of bloggers, yea?) Somehow or other, it must always be a rainy day whenever I plan any outdoor activities. (My paintball session also had a rainy Saturday morning.) Anyway, I wasn't going to let a little drizzle cheat me out of this trip, which had been planned for even before I went to Medan & Lake Toba last month (of which pictures are soon to follow! There are just too many of them to sort and photoshop - over 2,000+ pix *faint*) so I forged ahead, cheerfully preparing and leaving the house to reach the meeting point - Rawang KTM station - by 8.00am. (My earlier rant-y post refers.) Anyway, on with the trip notes.


Spy the yellow brick road bridge?

Chiling Falls is located in the vicinity of Kuala Kubu Baru, roughly 45km from Rawang town. To get there, just follow the trunk road signs heading to Ipoh / Kuala Kubu Baru, then take the road leading to Fraser's Hill (a turning to the right) once you've reached Kuala Kubu Baru. You will pass by the Selangor Dam along the way, offering scenic views and also a place to stop for photograpy (which we couldn't do that day as the group I was with are no photo lovers). The entrance to the Chiling Falls trail is just after you cross a small yellow bridge (refer pic above), there is an open space for parking vehicles about 50m further up on your left. I believe that it's quite safe to park your vehicles there (there isn't any "official" parking space) because there was a number of cars parked besides our convoy of 5 cars.


Entrance to Chiling Falls trail


Operating hours and guidelines


The start of the trail

Take the trail inside and an easy short walk of about 5 - 10 minutes will bring you to a clearing where there is a ranger station and public facilities built. Apparently, these buildings are new and there is also a camping facility there. If you intend to camp out there, please call ahead and speak to the park ranger.


Map of the Chiling Falls trail


The suspension bridge built to replace the first river crossing


View of the river from the suspension bridge

If you're an experienced trekker, then this trail should pose no problem to you and is actually deemed an easy walk in the park outing. If you're a novice at trekking, it would be advisable to hire a knowledgable guide (more info on guides at the end of the post). My group were a motley crew of extreme newbies (like moi!) and those who trek for pleasure to act as our guides.


View of the rushing river further along the trail

The trail itself takes about 90 minutes to complete (or faster if you're an experienced trekker) and is fairly straightforward in that you won't get lost. For most parts, you are never far from the river and the first half of the trail is mostly jungle undergrowth that makes for a narrow trail. There are five river crossings in total and oh boy! this was the fun-nest part for me. Be prepared to get wet as you wade across.


Some strangers crossing the river

If you have weaker members with you, it would be better to bring along ropes for safety. The river current is quite strong, but it won't sweep an adult off their feet. However, it is quite deep in parts, rising up to hip level for a male of average height (5'9" thereabouts) so some of the smaller sized females in my party had a bit of difficulty. We were there during the current rainy season, so I believe that the river was at its fullest / highest. It was also a tad muddy.


The waterfall that awaits you at the end

Ah! The falls! This is the highlight of the trip. According to other websites, the falls are about 8 storeys high. The water pours into a wide pool that is big enough for wading and swimming. The whole area is cool from the spray from the falls and the water is cool and refreshing! Perfect for a dip. Heh. There are plenty of scattered boulders to sit on and the area can accomodate groups easily.


Strangers on the giant boulder

All in all, Chiling Falls is a good choice for a day trip, especially if you incorporate a makan session or two before and after the trek. There are good places to eat in Kuala Kubu Baru and Rawang town. Or if you're feeling like extending your stay, you could always drive up to Frasers' Hill for a night. I definitely want to go back to Chiling again (didn't take enough photos this time around to satisfy myself) and if anyone plans to go... call me!

If you would like to have a guide to accompany you on this trip, most websites on Chiling recommend Mr. Happy Yen. You may access his website here. So far, I have heard nothing but good comments from satisfied clients and while I personally have not used Yen's services, I may do so in the future for other outings to different falls. :o)

Also read about Chiling Falls at these websites :
Happy Yen - Guide
Waterfalls of Malaysia
Go2Malaysia
Suanie
KY
Ulutopian
Tilo