Penang Hills and Trails - Malihom Eastbound
Pekan Genting (Balik Pulau area) to Sungai Ara

This is part of a series of pages on walking the hills of Penang. Click here for the index. This is a Grade 2 walk. There is a sketch map at the bottom showing the route followed. There is an update available on the preferred climb towards Malihom.

Please visit my Penang buses page for information on accessing the starting point.

The Malihom Estate (http://malihom.com/) belongs to the descendants of Yeap Chor Ee, one of the famous names of early 20th century Penang, see http://houseyce.com/who-was-yeap-chor-ee/ for more information. His house in Lebuh Penang in George Town is open to the public http://houseyce.com/visit-us/ (Link broken by September 2025) and a road off Green Lane (Jalan Masjid Negeri) is named after him. Malihom is an amazing place, well beyond our budget, this article is probably better than their own website in giving the background to it - http://www.i-zen.com.my/pdf/citizen/CITIZEN_10.PDF (link broken by December 2021). (But what they say about the durians was totally contradicted by the glut in November and December 2012!)

The Sungai Ara area is new to us (as of February 2013). We had enjoyed an excellent hike from Jalan Kenari to Balik Pulau with the aid of a detailed web report of a mountain bike ride. The same source also waxed lyrical over a trail which passed Malihom, a 'boutique' tourist destination although significantly there was far less detail - http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=992221 (Link broken by 1st November 2018) and there was also a report of a ride which ended short at the summit on the central range of the hills - http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1336334 (Link broken by 1st November 2018). However, we had failed to reproduce it and instead ended up between Teluk Kumbar and Bukit Genting, a pleasant enough hike even if it was not what was intended. This report tells how we subsequently sorted the trail by hiking from west to east. However, I have posted another report which tells you how to do it in the reverse direction, written with the admirable benefit of hindsight and something we have yet to do ourselves. It comes highly recommended whichever way you choose, the west side is steeper than the east so choose the direction according to whether you prefer steep ups to steep downs or vice versa!

We came over from Teluk Bahang on the 09.45 501 bus as usual (note since then the bus has been retimed, see above), being sure to allow us enough time for a Roti Chanai second breakfast. PHH 4498 had been restored to health and we stocked up with buns in Balik Pulau before catching a 401 bus through Pekan Genting and up the climb towards Bukit Genting. There are signs for Malihom to the left just at the end of the first new viaduct and, as anticipated, the driver was happy to set us down here. I have my doubts whether a driver coming down the hill would be so co-operative but you can always try and catch a bus back up if he won't stop! These are the views looking downhill along the old road and where the Malihom road leaves it on the first bend. Starting here saves at least 100 metres of vertical climbing from near sea level.

The description accompanying the mountain bike ride had been vague in the extreme apart from a few generic pictures, what did stand out was that it was known as the Malihom farmers' trail and that parts of it seemed to have been deliberately blocked a few years back (something as we later discovered is no longer true but it did affect our approach). The first right fork did not look promising but we felt we ought to try the second as it looked good for a hill climb. However, we soon bumped into an old man who first denied that there was any route over the hills at all but then admitted that maybe there was a small track, but in any case it wasn't from this road. So back the short way to the bottom we went and Yuehong as always is indicating the correct fork:

This dropped down a bit but almost immediately started to climb, if you try to come this way and don't see a small Chinese shrine on the right, you're on the wrong road. Further up you will pass this larger than average house which comes with a good view.

Soon afterwards you will come to a fork, the left side is the Malihom access road, full of even more than averagely threatening signs. Having visited their website (http://malihom.com/) I could somewhat appreciate that this was not the kind of place where smelly hikers would be greatly appreciated so we took the hint and continued up to the right. It was, looking back, the worst decision of the day by some way. We continued up the road through a durian estate and there was a fine view back to Pulau Betong to reward us.

Up we went until the road finished at a rather nice house. Never mind, just back a few metres, a concrete motorbike trail crossed the road and continued climbing. Up through the durians we went, but when we reached the rubber I was rightly getting worried. I did a quick survey ahead and found the way up to the top of the hill covered in marriage threatening scrub and in any case we needed to be finding a path to a col rather than a summit from what I could glean from our web source. Back down we went, a little sweatier for the experience...

There was another concrete path available off upwards into the scrub but instinct told me to check again at the previous house to the left of the road. I said my prayers and low and behold there was an old road half hidden behind it:

There was yet another guest worker here who indicated that it would indeed lead to the top and very soon we found ourselves back on the Malihom access road, we had no choice but to follow it up, at least to a point where another trail went off to the left. We hoped it would allow us to skirt the Malihom site which appeared to be situated on the hill top above us. This was our second worst decision of the day.

The trail did indeed start to skirt the hill top and we passed what looked like further tourist accommodation which was not exactly in the best of shapes and we got quite a nice view along Penang's central range looking north.

There was even a fair continuation of the trail but this faded after we got to the water storage tanks. Ahead was overgrown rubber, I was dispatched on a recce, I tried along left and right and finally by going up through the overgrown rubber (always Yuehong's least favoured option) we did come out, but only further up the Malihom access road! The body language says it all.

"Look at the view", I said encouragingly, but strangely that didn't evoke a positive response. I knew from long experience that once we got over the top of the hill things would improve.

At which point we had no option but to throw ourselves on the tender mercies of the staff of Malihom who kindly allowed us to enter their gated compound and pass out of the back gate - not the tradesmen's entrance but where their guests could leave to go exploring... Down below is a tiny hut and Yuehong is indicating where we should have come up.

She suggested that I might like to hike down to find out where we should have come up. Despite the prospect of having to do a significant descent and re-ascent, I readily agreed as it might give me some peace and quiet for up to half an hour. As I left I smiled as it seemed she had been invaded by some large red biting ants... I was sure that 'normality' would have been restored by the time I returned. In fact, I was back much more quickly than I expected. Following the contours I soon came out on the Malihom access road at a point which even the most myopic of hikers would recognise - we had bypassed this point while in the rubber. So let me spell out what we should have done and saved ourselves more than an hour of exploring:

"Simply climb the Malihom access road until you see this bit of art work at the road side on a bend. Go behind it through the palms and follow the path below Malihom on the hill top." The bar is the nearest thing we saw to an obstruction on the path all day and you shouldn't hurt anybody's sensibilities if you do as I have suggested.

When I got back, Yuehong's good humour had returned, she had talked with a friendly farmer who confirmed we just had to follow the trail down to Sungai Ara. We left Malihom with a slight spring in out step, passing the farmer's house with his chickens happily clucking as they didn't have to go out and find their food like many.

Thereafter it was just a question of following the trail down to the point where it became a road, this landmark is of course totally tasteless but is used for the industrial scale harvesting of swifts' nests. The road is well shaded and is that just a hint of a smile?

We weren't sure where we would come out in relation to our early explorations but one junction later we found ourselves at a newish Thai style Buddhist temple, Samnaksong, where we relaxed for half an hour while Yuehong chatted to a couple of Malaysians who were up here 'taking the airs'. We had time to spare if we were to eat out at our normal time and location (Tanjung Tokong).

We had seen the temple from the valley road the previous day so we now knew exactly where we were and what remained to be done. It was Friday afternoon and there were sounds of local boys enjoying the opportunity to swim in the rock pools next to the road. Also next to the road were signs that the farmers in the hills are still basically uneducated peasants. I'm too old to solve all the world's problems so we headed off into Sungai Ara for a quick Wanton Mee and suitable refreshment.

We were lucky with our buses, we got a 302 almost immediately to town and by taking it all the way to the Jetty, we got a seat in a 103 during the rush hour. All in all a most satisfactory day despite the minor diversions and confirmation that Sungai Ara is a fertile area for further explorations...