Hutan Lipur Gunung Pulai, Johor

Hutan Lipur Gunung Pulai (6 August 2019)

Hutan Lipur Gunung Pulai (GPS: 1.5876, 103.53018), also called Gunung Pulai Recreational Forest, is a protected forest area in southern Johor. It is located to the north of Pulai, in Kulai District, Johor. The recreational forest, or hutan lipur, is 45 km from Johor Bahru. It is an important water catchment area for Johor Bahru and Singapore.

In the middle of Gunung Pulai Recreational Forest is the 700-meter tall Gunung Pulai. There is also a cascading waterfall, Gunung Pulai Waterfall, which is quite popular. The wildlife of the forest includes deer, monkeys and several species of birds. The forest is open to the public from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm daily, and admission is free. Parking is RM3 (Aug 2019). There are two places, namely Hutan Lipur Gunung Pulai 1 (GPS: 1.5876, 103.53018), entered at Kampung Sri Gunung Pulai towards Kem Bina Negara Gunung Pulai, and Hutan Lipur Gunung Pulai 2 (GPS: 1.582829, 103.495988), towards Kem Kaizen. Most people go to Hutan Lipur Gunung Pulai 1, as did we.

Visiting Hutan Lipur Gunung Pulai

My wife and I joined our friend Rob Tan for an excursion to Hutan Lipur Gunung Pulai on 6 August, 2019. We left Fraser Place Puteri Harbour after breakfast, and drove north on the E3, eventually arriving at 8:50am. There were already quite a lot of cars at the parking lot, where an attendant collected RM3 from us. We saw that some of the hikers came with ski sticks to help with the hiking. We had no inclination for rigorous hiking, and were happy to do just a mild walk.

The climb was not too bad, but enough to break a sweat. Along the way, we admired the different trees where their names were labelled on the trunk. There was a wide open space ideal for teambuilding activities. On the whole, the place was relatively clean, although still not as well maintained as forest parks in developed countries.

My wife, Rob Tan and I at the start of our climb at Gunung Pulai Recreational Forest (6 August 2019)

Hikers enter through the side gate to Gunung Pulai Recreational Forest. The words in Malay reads, "Your outdoor recreation destination." (6 August 2019)