Penang Hills and Trails - Top Ten Walks

Penang Hills and Trails - Top Ten Walks
Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

For convenience I have now grouped lifestyle illustrated features by topic:

This is just a selection of the many walks available on this site.
Click here for the full list of walks.
Click here for Penang Hills and Trails 2024 - Paradise Lost? (updated 27th November 2024)
Click here for a guide to Penang's Peaks (16th March 2020)
Click here for Walks Listed by Starting Point
Click here for a list of further Selected Walks.
Click here for information on Rain Gauges
and Catchment Areas (updated 27th January 2024).
Click here for the introduction.
Click here for Penang's Rubber Heritage (updated 8th March 2024)

I strongly recommend using buses to get to the starting points and back from the end of these walks.
I have written a short guide to Penang's Buses (updated 6th October 2022) for hikers although directions are included in individual hikes.

The number of Penang walks available on this website is now so great that a newcomer might find the choice both overwhelming and confusing. So here is a selection of my favourites from all parts of the island, with something for everyone in terms of difficulty. Compared to the original blog reports, I have reworked these walks to a 'plain vanilla' format to include just the basic instructions and the most rewarding views. As such, it is easy to forget that in some cases we didn't get it 'right first time'...

You will note the absence of Penang's better known walks such as those in the National Park, that from Air Itam to Balik Pulau and the notorious 'Moon Gate Path' up Penang Hill - the walks below will take you off the beaten track and the only people you will meet are the farmers and rubber tappers who live in the hills. No special equipment is needed, just good walking shoes, a hat, a stick to wave at the odd dog and an adequate supply of water (I recommend 2.5L per person). Walk 0 is a 'taster', it's not short but if it kills you then don't think about the others. Allow 2-3 hours for the first three which are significantly shorter and 3-5 hours for the others, maybe longer if, like me, you are of pensionable age.

The walks are listed roughly in order of increasing difficulty (Grades 1 to 4), the absence of a 4 in this list indicates that at worst only short amounts of potentially awkward paths are included and such sections are clearly indicated in the text for the walk concerned. There is, however, plenty of hill climbing in most!

0.	The Batu Ferringhi Aqueducts	Grade 1	A beginner's walk with almost no climbing along one of Penang's best kept secrets.
1.	Gertak Sanggul to Pulau Betong	Grade 2	A lovely walk through fruit orchards with views of the island's south west coast.
2.	Tropical Fruit Farm to Pantai Acheh	Grade 2	A downhill walk from the round-the-island road to Penang's most remote village.
3.	Paya Terubong to USM (Sungai Dua)	Grade 2	A stroll above Paya Terubong and the hills behind USM.
4.	Genting to Sungai Ara via Malihom Hill	Grade 2	A walk through the southern hills of the island, starting nearly half way up!
5.	Paya Terubong to Balik Pulau	Grade 2	Vegetable gardens and durian orchards and some splendid distant views.
6.	Sungai Ara to Balik Pulau	Grade 2	Another walk through the southern hills of the island, starting gently...
7.	Air Itam to Paya Terubong	Grade 3	A visit to the 1200 Steps temple via Air Itam Dam.
8.	Air Itam to Penang Hill (via the Dam)	Grade 3	Climbing Penang Hill away from the crowds.
9.	Penang Hill to Air Itam via Tiger Hill Valley	Grade 3	An unusual route down Penang Hill using a 'Hidden Valley',
10.	Air Itam to Titi Kerawang	Grade 3	A long walk across the heart of the island.

Trail Locations - Click on a Number for each hike.