January 30th, 2018
It was a perfect Tuesday for an adventure in the wild when we set out to try the longest trail in Murug Turug Waterfalls Heaven. It is located roughly thirty to forty five minutes away from the city center in a small town called Tamparuli. This town is famous among the locals for it's suspension bridge and there was even a song about it. You might want to check it out some time later, the Jambatan Tamparuli song.
They said that you might want to take a deep breathe if you choose this trip and it's true. Have you ever go for a hike where you need to go down the hill first then finish the hike by climbing rocks? No, right? At least we haven't. Usually we'll start off climbing the hill then only we descend. This trail is the against the the Newton's law. But you'll be treated with extraordinary views. It's a win win situation, mi amigo. The trail is hard but the view is expensive.
I've been to some hiking trails around but I give this one a thumbs up, I mean out of five star, I'll give four and a half. It is a real forest, with minimal signs of agriculture, the river is untouched you still can see the aftermath of the storms few weeks ago and the waterfalls are more than 10 feet tall so there's no way you can dive from the top. You'll fall on the rock bed though. There were seven tall waterfalls and all of them are beautiful.
The package that we chose that day has the longest trail of 12KM. I'm telling you, 12KM is not a child play. At first you might think that it's easy to turn back but when you reach the first waterfall, you'll give up the idea. It's better to keep moving because the trail you've passed is way too far and exhausting. Ah! There is this tower on top of a hill on the way to the waterfall, they called it Malas Kalas Peak. That tower allows you to have a wide view of the surrounding mountain ranges. It's made of wood and it's shaky though. But, don't worry so far, no incidents happened. The most important thing is, there are guides along the trip. They are good qualified local and always willing to help.
What you need to bring with you on this trip? What did we bring?
Hiking gear
Hiking shoes - preferably made of highly durable material like rubber
Slipper - in case you want to change in the waterfall
Cap
Drinking water - 1.5 - 2 L
Waterproof bag
Snacks, fruits and food for lunch
Camera with waterproof casing
Phone with waterproof casing
Change of clothes - in case you want to dive into the waterfall
Raincoat - in case it rains
Well that's all...
If you're not a mosquito friendly person, you might want to bring some repellent, because its tropica. There are some part of the trail that you might need to use hiking pole and some part of it you might want to use gloves but we didn't bring any. Most of the last five kilometers was very steep that they installed rope along the trail for hikers. You'll feel like you're going rock climbing sometimes. Their guide have first aid kit so don't worry, but you might want to bring your own medicine if you have any allergic to bugs or bees. It's unexpected to get stung by bees or insects since it is their habitat.
It took us five exhausting hours to finish that day. We started hiking at 9 a.m and came back at three in the afternoon. The weather wasn't so good and we had to take it slow because the trail was so slippery and lots of loose rocks.
If it wasn't for the rain we would have had a chance to dip into the last waterfall but the nature did not allow us. The last waterfall is quite unique, the water spins before falling from more than 10 meters. They called it the Murug Turug Waterfall, literally means the spinning waterfall in Dusun language.
This is the starting point and also where you will finish. It by the road side on the way to another famous town, Ranau, so not so hard to find.
The observatory tower fully made of wood. Feels like you're in a Spartan war observing your teritory from the top of a hill.
This is where you can show your hiking with rope skill. The muddy trail is slippery and if you're wearing improper pair of shoes this rope helps a lot. But your hand is going to sting a little too. You can wear glove if you want.
Lunch guys! It's necessary since we've been exerting too much for hours and unfortunately we went off without breakfast that day.
This is the time when you are going to need a raincoat. We didn't bring any, therefore we went home soaked in the rain. It's been a great experience for us anyway. We joked, we laughed and we relaxed in the rain.
So, that's it. Our day trip to an interesting place with beautiful views and hardcore muddy trail. It's been an awesome day.
If you're a trail hunter and looking for a spice, you can try this trail. You can contact their crews and get more information about this place in their Facebook account, Murug Turug Eco Tourism. Let them know you're interested, they have friendly and welcoming crews.
Ciao. See you on our next adventures.
