Gunung Panti via Forest route

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Height: 513m Date: 09 March 2003 Updated: November 2003

Getting There Trek Details Permit

View from the summit of Gunung Panti(16 November 2000) Gunung Panti is a small hill near the town of Kota Tinggi. As it is just 1.5hrs ride away from Singapore, it is gaining popularity for Singaporeans who wanted to get away from the city life for a day or two. Although this trek can be completed within a day, spending a night at the summit campsite may prove worthwhile as there are luminous macroscopic fungi growing at the edges of the main camping area. They are quite easy to spot in very dark areas. But as they do not glow, the eyes have to be attentive to spot them if there is moonlight. The route described here is the most common route taken by both Singaporeans and Malaysians. Since my driver, Idris known it as Forest route, I would call it by the same name. The other trail is via Lukut. Unless the driver knows where is the starting point of the Forest route, it can be quite difficult to spot for those who had not been there before. The starting point is about 45mins walk along the main road from Kota Tinggi waterfall resort (Wet World resort) towards Kota Tinggi town at a road junction. It is the first road junction coming from the Wet World resort towards the town. Coming from the resort, you can ask the driver to turn left, as it is still tarred road, into the fruit plantation so as to reduce a few hundred meters of walking. I would personally prefer to trek up via Lukut route and come down by the Forest route and walk towards the resort to take a bus, taxi or van back to the town unless transport is already arranged. The initial part of the Forest route is relatively flat. However, the trail soon becomes undulating and at certain points, is muddy. The challenging part of this route is that there is a very steep ascent towards the summit. There are some fixed ropes to assist in the steep ascent. However, after overcoming this steep portion, the summit is about 10m away. This route is also reported to be leech infested, although I’ve not encountered any during my last two trips there. The start of the steep ascent(09 Feb 2003)   There are fixed ropes to assist in the ascent of the steep section near the summit(09 Feb 2003) The Forest route is more interesting than the Lukut route although ascending and descending via the same way may be a bit monotonous. On the Forest route, the last water source is near the beginning of the trek and from there, there is no water at all. Thus parties going up and camping have to bring all the water that they need. As this is a small hill and the trek is simple, it is an ideal place to take a break from the city life while not that far from civilization. *** March 2003 *** Getting There From Singapore to Johor Bahru Bus Take SBS bus 170 from Singapore to Larkin Terminal in Johor Bahru From Larkin(Johor Bahru Bus Interchange) to Kota Tinggi Bus Interchange Bus Service : G.P. EXPRESS(Platform 33) Frequency : Hourly Cost : RM 3.50 per person Remarks : Free seating Find out which bus bay to take the bus *** September 2004 *** OR Bus Service : Causeway Link bus no. 66 Frequency : 15-20 min Cost : RM 3.50 per person Duration : 1 hr Remarks : Free seating Bus tickets are bought on the bus itself This is not an express bus so the bus would make frequent stops in towns along the way *** September 2004 *** From Kota Tinggi to Gunung Panti Bus From Kota Tinggi Interchange to Wet World resort entrance (Starting Point of trek) Tell the driver that you are going to Kota Tinggi waterfall. Cost : RM 2 per person Duration : approx. 30-45min Remarks : Bus ticket is bought on the bus Bus stop at the carpark in front of Wet World resort There is no bus shelter The bus makes a U-turn in the carpark of the Wet World resort before heading back to town. *** September 2003 *** OR From Kota Tinggi Interchange to Wet World resort entrance (Starting Point of trek) Tell the driver that you are going to Kota Tinggi waterfall. Cab Cost : RM 10-12 per vehicle (for one way) Duration : 20 min *** September 2004 *** OR By Van Cost : RM 3 per person Duration : 20 min Remarks : Usually taken on the way back from resort to Kota Tinggi town *** September 2004 *** From Johor Bahru to Gunung Panti Cab Take taxi from Johor Bahru (outside customs) to starting point of trek Cost : RM 50 per cab Duration : 1 hr *** 27 June 2001 *** From Johor Bahru/Kota Tinggi to Gunung Panti Chartered vehicle Contact person : Idris Contact Numbers : 07-8911084(H) 010-7616001(HP) Johor Bahru customs to Wet World resort entrance Cost of van (10 seater) : RM 100 (one way) Duration : 1 hr From Kota Tinggi town to Wet World resort entrance or back Cost of van (10 seater) : Rm 3 per person or Rm 10 per van whichever is a higher price (one way) Duration : 20 min Remarks : Can speak passable English *** September 2003 *** Trek Details Duration(min) Description Instructions Remarks 00 Starting point at the junction at the main road Turn left from the main road (facing the direction towards town) Fruit plantation 05 T-Junction Go straight   05 Stream Cross the stream Just before the stream, there is a small trail that breaks off from the main trail on the left, this would lead to the stream where there are rocks that you can use to cross without getting your shoes wet. 08 Y-junction Turn left Gradual descent 22 Inverted Y-Junction Go straight (Left route)   40 Start of steep ascent     30 End of steep ascent Turn left   02 Summit   Campsite Total time taken to reach summit from starting point: 1hr 52mins Permit Note: In 2006, there were reports of big-foot sighting in the region and forest rangers were stationed at the starting point of the trek to check for permits. However, a fellow trekker has kindly informed me that the forest ranger is no longer there. *** July 2007 *** According to a fellow trekker, since the beginning of the year 2006, forest rangers are stationed at the starting point of the trek to check for permits. Permit can be applied from the Forestry Department, Penisular Malaysia in Johore (District) Pejabat Hutan Daerah Johor Selatan Aras 9, Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim Jalan Bukit Timbalan 80000 Johor Bahru Permit Cost : Rm150 per group Contact number : 60-7224 3048 Information to provide : Namelist, Passport number, Contact number *** March 2006 *** (State) Pejabat Perhutanan Negeri Johor Tingkat 2, Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim Jalan Bukit Timbalan 80990 Johor Bharu Telephone : 07-2243566 Fax : 07-2243840 Mr Koh Hock Lye, Director. Johore State Forestry Dept Email: tppn@johorforestry.gov.my *** November 2003 *** Please read Disclaimer, terms and conditions prior to using the data/information on the website.