Belumut Range Sports & Outdoors

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We just came back from Gunung Belumut. The park is now open after being closed in 2008 and 2009 (we went in 2009 and it was still "under repair" and had to climb nearby Gunung Lambak instead).
This time in 2010 the park was already open, but the park gates were closed! It was a Friday. Ten minutes after we came, a man drove by and told us that it would only open the next day. “Mr M” said in any case we need to make a police report and also pay a entry fee of RM150, and that could only be done in town. After some negotiations he said he could help us get in for RM70 - he would make the police report and then 'cover' us if the park rangers came. We agreed of course, then exchange phone numbers with with and left our particulars. Apparently you could get a porter for RM100 if the park was opened. We wish there was a number we could call from Singapore to check out if the park is open.
So we just walked round the gate to a hole in fence...
There were no clear signs where the trail begins, and after a while we called Mr M and he said we had to cross the bridge across the river that runs to the right of the recreation area and then take the concrete steps to the left that leads up.
We reached the false summit after four hours. This is a clay covered clearing without trees about the size of one or two badminton courts. The real summit could be seen about a few hundred metres away. We could not find the trail leader there and hunted around, and finally found it. It was overgrown, but when we entered it, the undergrowth cleared about twenty metres. (If you stand at the false summit and face the real summit, the trial is at the one o’clock position of the clearing.) That part of the trail was narrow and had many needle palms and lalang which can cut us – so longs would be useful.
Watch out for leeches at the lower part of the mountain. We all got leeches, and one of us had seven of them! We did not have matches or a lighter with us, but found out that Axe Brand medicated oil works; just drip it onto the suckers and they will wriggle and fall off.
We took eight and half very long and tough hours to go up and down. Be prepared to scramble up and down quite steep slopes at two or three points. Bring plenty of water!

Equipment: Standard hiking equipment. Plus:

Anti leech stuff - either a lighter or Axe Brand medicated oil or similar.
Tweezers would be useful just in case a thorn gets into your flesh.
Disinfected would be useful too.