Mount Santubong the Legend

Mount Santubong the Legend.

It has always been the best mountain to climb when you are in Sarawak. For those hikers that plan for a trip in Kuching , spare a day to conquer the highest mountain in Kuching, that is the Mount Santubong or Gunung Santubong (local say).
How to get there.
Gunung Santubong ( GS) is located about 25 kilometres from Kuching city. It is located in Santubong near Pantai  Damai (Damai Beach ). Hikers can take a public transport, bus, van, renting a scooter/motor bike  or for more adventures you can cycling to Santubong. For a bus ride, it may take about 30- 45 minutes to reach. It depend to the average driver as there are not so much traffic congestion going there. Well , along the way you can enjoy the beautiful scenary when approaching to the mountain. Santubong is a fishing village years ago. When the resort was open decades ago ( not sure the exact years) it become the tourist product. Many tourists come to Santubong for a beach treat , cultural village ( one of the attraction ) and food (seafood).  

Mount view from the beach

As soon as you reach at the foot of Santubong, you have two locations of starting point. One is where it starts from Bukit Puteri hill side, and the other one with a little more distance is at the cafe. You may choose as both are worth to try. 

Rules to abide

The climbing would take two hours to three hours to reach the top. Be patient to climb as the track may slippery and obstacles. The difficulty from the minute you start to one hour later may reach 4-5 difficult ( easy (1) -moderate - difficult - extreme (10) difficult) ). Along the way enjoy the scenary  plus flora fauna. You may see birds, flowers, wild cat if you are lucky enough.

Hornbill or Burung Kenyalang spotted

Before that, make sure you take sufficient drinks and some food for you to consume.  Maybe some packed food for lunch when you reach a top.  Medication, ointment, deep heat may helpful along the way up and down.  Also don't forget camera, and yeah cellphone able to use as some cellphone provider's coverage are available.  

Second hour of climbing may requires you to flex your hand muscle as there are a few wooden ladder as in the picture. For me this is the best part and expect you to conquer the obstacle before you reach the top. Be careful with the slippery ladder and not stable structures. 

Footwear is not necessary a hiking gear as some climber just wear a rubber shoes and some only wear slippers, rarely. ( they are local pro). So don't feel intimidated when you meet one.

Stairway (wooden +rope )  to the top

What do you have at the top? , do not expect there are a kiosk selling drinks or cigarette as the is only one old wood hut waiting for you. It is to be shared with other climber. Sometime you may see many climbers in group of ten or more (college student). Keep your rubbish and do not litter.  Enjoy the view of Kuching and fresh air of gunung Santubong. 

View from the top

It is up to you to enjoy at the top and hours to do it. My advice is keep it as short as possible. As long as you have refresh yourself and continue to descend because you required another two hours time to go down. Your timing is very important as you do not want to climb down in the dark or late afternoon. My advice is the max you finish and arrive is at four o'clock. 

Enjoy your descend and enjoy your day.