Stuif's Adventures

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Waterfall Hunting (18-20)-2-2007
During an earlier visit to Kelantan I had been looking in vain for Lata Berangin. At Lata Rek I met some locals who told me they could guide me there, but I had not enough time.
Recently an acquaintance from Kota Baharu sent me more detailed directions how to reach this fall.
Then there still was an 'unfinished' job in Terengganu, the Cemerong Fall, which I had seen from far away only.
And another friend had told me about Lata Jarum, a waterfall near Raub in Pahang.

Time for some serious waterfall hunting!

So Paul, Karl and I left KL at CNY and, after breakfast in Bentong, found Lata Jarum without any problem. A nice cascade with lots of water. In the past there must have been attempts to 'develop' the fall, but it looked quite neglected now.

After lunch in Kuala Lipis, the former capital of Pahang, we continued our trip to Gua Musang, where we took rooms in the Evergreen Hotel for RM 72.
In the afternoon we visited the Pulai Swee Nyet temple in nearby Pulai.
This is one of the oldest temples in Malaysia, rebuilt in 1970 after it had been destroyed during the Japanese occupation. On the other side of the river is a very interesting rock temple, still under construction. We observed a beautiful snake there.

The next morning we first had a look at Lata Rek. Quite a big river with powerful cascades and a nice sandy beach.
Finding Lata Berangin turned out to be easier than expected. No off-road driving, just a good, although narrow, tar road.
But NO signage at all, so you have to know which road to take! Strange, because this is quite a spectacular waterfall.
We tried to find a way to climb to the top, but gave up half-way. Local people told us, that several people have died here.

With a feeling of "mission accomplished" we continued to the East Coast, where we could not resist the temptation to have a refreshing sea bath, before we went to K. Terengganu, where we took a room for only RM 55. We had dinner in Chinatown, where it was unexpectedly crowded.

The next morning we first visited the famous Floating Mosque and then continued to Hutan Lipur Cemerong. When I visited Cemerong in 2004, the park was officially closed for renovation. Now new buildings had been constructed, although it did not look operational yet.
A new over-sized bridge had been built across Sg Cemerong, and we decided to use this bridge and follow the trail on the right side of the stream, leading to Gunung Berembun.
A strenuous climb followed. Two hours later and more than 400 meters higher, we could not hear the sound of the stream anymore.

We decided to backtrack and, following a very steep trail, managed to scramble down to the river.
There we saw that the waterfall was still above us. :-(
We took some rest and prepared coffee, while Karl checked if it was possible to follow the stream. No way, big steep rocks everywhere.

So what to do? Give up?

Suddenly Paul saw two people on the other side of the stream, apparently following a trail!
We crossed the stream, climbed up to this trail and followed it upstream.
After about ten minutes, wow, there was the waterfall!
A spectacular sight. Could be ~300 meter high. Lots of water. Might be the most beautiful waterfall in Peninsular Malaysia. Now our mission was really accomplished.. :-)

Reluctantly we finally left this wonderful place. We will come back to explore the fall further.
Probably the trail we took first, to Gunung Berembun, will eventually reach the top of the fall.

This was a very successful trip. Malaysia Boleh!

Signboard to Lata Jarum
 

Where is the fall?
 

Lata Jarum
 

A perfect place for a bath
 

Powerful cascades
 

Upstream of the fall
 

Time for coffee!
 

Kuala Lipis
 

Gua Musang
 

The Swee Nyet Keung temple
 

Entrance of the temple
 

Burning Incense
 

Rock Temple near Pulai
 

Snake, dead or alive?
 

Interior of the temple
1 comment

The rock is hollow
 

View from above
 

Alive!
5 comments

Sunset
 

The Evergreen Hotel
 

Jan and Lata Rek
 

Paul and Lata Rek
 

Karl and Lata Rek
 

Lata Pau
 

Lata Berangin
1 comment

Powerful Fall
 

Tiny humans in wild nature
1 comment

View down from half way up
 

As far as we dared to climb up
 

Life is beautiful
4 comments

Daredevil
 

Fun
 

Beach at Marang
4 comments

Karl and beach
 

Sea bath
 

Beach atmosphere
 

Fruits?
2 comments

Chinatown in K. Terengganu
2 comments

Dragon fruit drink
 

Bridge over the Sg Terengganu
 

The Terengganu Hotel
 

Roti Canai breakfast
 

The Floating Mosque
 

Morning view
 

Hutan Lipur Cemerong
 

The lower fall
 

Colorful insect
 

The new bridge
 

Trail to Gunung Berumbun
 

Strange tree
 

Backtracking
 

View from the river bed.
 

Lunch time
 

Crossing the stream
 

Cemerong Fall
6 comments

Hurrah... we did it
 

Powerful Fall
 

The top part of the fall
 

Enjoying a well deserved bath
 

On our way back
 

The old suspension bridge
 

Giant dipterocarp
 

GPS track of the trip
1 comment

wrote on Feb 22, 2007:
Congrats See that you have found Beringin as well. Good job!

wrote on Feb 22, 2007:
Could it be a Striped Bronzeback Tree Snake?

Kwai Loh wrote on Feb 22, 2007:
I agree, but what is it doing in a cave?

wrote on Feb 22, 2007:
wonderful trip and photos !!! thanks for sharing.. ashame of myself.. didn't even know we have such nice waterfalls up there !!!

wrote on Feb 22, 2007:
Jan, this truly a beautiful fall. Look so powerful and generate lots of energy. Shabas for you and your gang!

wrote on Feb 22, 2007:
Jan, the waters seem pretty calm for a monsoon season on the East Coast.

Kwai Loh wrote on Feb 22, 2007:
The weather was superb, not a drop of rain. Can it be that the eastern monsoon season is over now?

wrote on Feb 23, 2007:
Thank you for showing us locals just how beautiful our country is!

wrote on Feb 23, 2007:
paul, karl and you sure had a wonderful time. i am envious.;>) kwai loh boleh! /stephen

wrote on Feb 23, 2007:
They do wander into caves becos of the cool.

wrote on Feb 23, 2007:
Maybe sesat jalan.

wrote on Feb 23, 2007:
it's humbling to realise that man, despite his huge intellect, is still dwarfed by nature. /stephen

wrote on Feb 23, 2007:
You have every reason to be.

wrote on Feb 23, 2007:
I agree with you! That is a spectacular picture! Beautiful fall and the "accidental" human subjects were very well-positioned!! Congrats. I wish I was there!

wrote on Feb 23, 2007:
yes, that is a beautifully composed shot and with a really, really, beautiful fall in the background. /stephen

wrote on Feb 23, 2007:
You could be right. With global warming many weather situations have changed.

wrote on Feb 23, 2007:
yeah, looks like a mini-pineapple. but if i am not mistaken, it is the fruit of the pandanus, which leaves are used in mat weaving. /stephen

Kwai Loh wrote on Feb 23, 2007:
Yes, it is indeed the fruit of the pandanus palm

wrote on Feb 23, 2007:
ah so, they had an arch up for cny, eh? /stephen

Kwai Loh wrote on Feb 23, 2007:
nope, the arch is always there.

wrote on Feb 25, 2007:
You have a happy east coast trip ! :)
Yes, Kelantan is hot & dry now.

wrote on Mar 1, 2007:
i think it is a "cave raicer" which always could seen in caves ... i seen once & i m told that this creature only has very weak poison to kill ....so don't worry , cheers ...haha

wrote on Mar 1, 2007:
don't tell me this fall is found in Gunung Berumbun .......

wrote on Mar 1, 2007:
GORGEOUS @@
( 8 )

wrote on Mar 2, 2007:
Another good set of Images, I always enjoy your photography work, well done.

Kwai Loh wrote on Mar 2, 2007:
No, it is not near Gunung Berumbun/Benom. Apparently there is another Gunung (~1050m) with the same name in this Cemerong region

wrote on Mar 17, 2007:
bro,
better you try lasir. for me lasir is better than chemerong.

wrote on Sep 9, 2007:
another kaw dropping photo.. very nice..

wrote on Jul 22, 2008:
very nice capture!

wrote on Jul 22, 2008:
spectacular! could it be the tallest in north malaysia?

Kwai Loh wrote on Jul 22, 2008:
Yes, I think it could be. "Officially" Stong fall is the tallest one in Pen. Malaysia

wrote on Dec 12, 2008:
very nice place,am going there next week with a guide so doing a search on multiply to find out more on that place.

cheers

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