Every so often KLites return to nature to break away from the concrete jungle and round-the-clock noises. Lucky for KL, reserve forests with natural beauty are within easy reach as the city is located in the valley surrounded by the Titiwangsa mountain range.
Right smack in the city there is KL Forest Eco-Park, formerly known as Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve at the base of KL Tower. This green patch retains many original species of flora and fauna of the rainforest that thrived here a long time ago. Visitors enjoy a majestic aerial view from the treetops with its impressive 200meter canopy walk. Complete with nature trails, calisthenics court, herbs garden, and a mini zoo, this 9.3 hectare park is the perfect nature escape.
23km from the city, the Kanching Recreational Forest (also known as Templer’s Park) offers a rainforest with seven tiers of cascading waterfalls. On weekends, visitors hold their barbeques at the lower waterfalls and swim in the fresh spring water pools. More energetic visitors may want to climb up the concrete steps to waterfall level 7 where it is less crowded. Toilets and changing rooms are available at different levels of the falls.
The FRIM reserve in Kepong is a 600-hectare tropical reserve - one of the leading institutions in tropical forestry research with approximately 15,000 plants species. Grab the brochure from the info desk and walk through the trails to discover the many species of flora and fauna here. The park's canopy walkway is another attraction. Suspended 30 meters from the ground, and 200meters long, the canopy offers a breath-taking view of the forest. FRIM is a popular urban escape for camping, trekking, picnic by the waterfall and animal watching.
Bukit Gasing Forest Reserve, a 100-hectare green stretch in PJ is a lush secondary forest which was once a rubber plantation. After 60 years of abandon, it over-grew and created this wonderful forest among the residential areas. The highest point is at 160meters with a number of trails and steep slopes perfect for trekking. The park is dog-friendly and quite popular among trekkers with dogs on weekends.
Kota Damansara Community Forest Reserve (KDFC) in Kota Damansara is a gazetted park for recreation and research. The 300-hectare reserve has 14km of nature trails including the 1km educational Petaling trail aimed to educate the visitors on the plants and preservation. One interesting attraction here is Aunty Sipew’s Garden that showcases the traditional plants and wild herbs used by the orang asli Temuan tribe. This is to honour the native Temuan tribe that has resided in the area for generations and their contributions in creating the park.
Photo Credit: Forest Research Institute Malaysia
