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Marco Ferrarese

Ask visitors what they would like to do while on the Unesco-inscribed Malaysian island of Penang and it’s unlikely they’ll answer “hike”.
But like a compact version of Hong Kong, Penang island and a slice of Penang state on the mainland called Seberang Perai boast at least 30 hiking trails.
The best known is on the island and reaches the summit of the 833-metre-high (2,733-foot) Penang Hill, arriving at colonial Malaya’s original hill station, founded by the British in 1788 to escape the heat.
Others criss-cross three areas.

Some traverse the nine hills connecting the Bukit Hijau massif to Bukit Jambul, in the centre of the island.
Some cross the two Teluk Tempoyak ridges, strewn with World War II bunkers and overlooking the island’s southeast coast.
Then there are those that range across the Cherok Tok Kun recreational forest and hill, near the mainland town of Bukit Mertajam, and in which grows the state’s biggest tree: a Mengkundor (Tetrameles nudiflora) with buttressed roots that are almost three times the height of an average human and is estimated to be more than a century old.

During two years of lockdowns, travel-starved Penangites embraced the nature in their backyard to stay sane, kick-starting a hiking trend. The Facebook group “Hiking Trails in Penang” grew from 5,000 to more than 27,500 members, and group hikes, shared trails and community events continue to proliferate.
However, not even the inscription of Penang Hill as Malaysia’s third Unesco Biosphere Reserve in September 2021 has inspired the state government to promote and protect these new-found trails.
So one local took matters into her own hands.
“The amazing trail system that runs throughout Penang is one of the lesser-known wonders of this island,” says Canadian aid worker and keen hiker Chantelle McIver, who moved to Penang five years ago.

Because she could not find a comprehensive map of the trails, McIver started creating her own by printing out sections from the free online OpenStreetMap resource as she completed her nature explorations.
When Covid-19 hit, McIver used the extra time she had at home to transform her visual notes into something more colourful and useful. In December 2022, she launched the first limited-edition Hiking Trails in Penang print, a wall map whose primary aim is to promote the island’s natural wealth to visitors.
“Most new hikers to Penang only know or use 20 per cent of the trails or less,” McIver says. “This map will help them plan to get out and explore.
“When there was a good rough draft, I met with numerous local hiking guides and group leaders to get their input on missing trails and points of interest to make it as complete as possible.”

The map can be bought at establishments on Penang island or ordered via the Facebook group.
Despite Penang’s natural bounty – and the fact that, after much gentrification and commercialisation of the capital, George Town, a focus on the hiking trails could ease the pressure on over-touristed attractions – the state government is showing little interest in transforming the island into a green tourism destination. On the contrary.
On November 1, 2022, an entry fee of 50 Malaysian ringgit (US$11) was introduced for foreigners to enter Penang National Park, which had been free of charge for decades.

Managed by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia, the park is home to popular trails to Monkey and Turtle beaches and to one of only three meromictic (having layers of water that do not mix) lakes in Asia. It is part of the 12,481-hectare (30,841-acre) Unesco Biosphere Reserve.
“While I totally agree that introducing fees to help with [much-needed] maintenance is a reasonable move, these high fees are counterproductive, and I expect the numbers of hikers to this park will significantly decline, and they won’t get the needed revenue to improve the trail infrastructure,” McIver says.

In mid-December 2022, local rail-industry pioneer Hartasuma won the bid to build a 245 million ringgit (US$55.2 million) cable car to the top of Penang Hill.
Expected to be completed in three years, it will complement the existing funicular railway, which was opened by the British in 1923 and overhauled in 2010.

The news did not please local environmentalists and NGOs who had fought throughout the pandemic to halt reclamation work for three artificial islands off Penang’s southern coast.
Those are part of the state government’s 46 billion ringgit Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), which seeks to ease the island’s traffic problem. Other PTMP developments include a light railway connecting the airport to George Town and an undersea tunnel.

“From the very beginning, when the [cable car] project was mooted in the 1990s, Malaysian Nature Society [MNS] has believed that an upgrade to the hill railway, not a cable car for Penang Hill, was the only thing necessary,” says MNS Penang branch adviser Kanda Kumar.
MNS worries that damage will be done to the hill while supporting towers for the cable car are being built, both in terms of heavy machinery access and ground levelling or clearing for construction.

“We must have a report on the environmental impacts of this project, and the people of Penang must be allowed to comment on it,” Kumar says.
Cheok Lay Leng, general manager of the Penang Hill Corporation, says that the cable car is not intended for mass tourism.
“It will reduce the dependency and strain on our current funicular service, which has a limited load capacity, especially when it has to be shut down for maintenance,” he says.

Cheok also stresses that his company places importance on sustainably and will replant trees to ensure that greenery is preserved.
“Constructing cable cars doesn’t require massive deforestation, so this will not bring detrimental effects to the environment,” he says.
“Many renowned national parks, nature reserves and even Unesco World Heritage sites and biosphere reserves around the world have a cable car, given its proven status as an environmentally sustainable public transportation system.”

Nature lovers remain focused on protecting Penang Hill and making the island an example of sustainability.
“Penang is small compared to other mass-tourism destinations,” Kumar says. “But with natural heritage that is in short supply in many parts of the world, it has great potential for quality tourism.”


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Hike the ‘amazing’ trails in Penang, Malaysia – now there’s finally a map for them, hikers can better enjoy the area’s outstanding natural beauty

A view over the Mengkuang Dam in Tok Kun, Bukit Mertajam, Penang. Photo: Kit Yeng

A river runs through a hiking trail on Penang island. Photo: Kit Yeng

The base of the massive Mengkundor tree at Cherok Tok Kun. Photo: Kit Yeng

A view over the Mengkuang Dam in Cherok Tok Kun. Photo: Kit Yeng

The hiking map of Penang island created by Chantelle McIver. Photo: Chantelle McIver

A Burmese temple on Berapit Hill, near Bukit Mertajam. Photo: Kit Yeng

A dusky leaf monkey on Penang Hill. Photo: Kit Yeng

Dense jungle covers the trail towards Carla’s Peak on Penang island. Photo: Kit Yeng

Sunset by the sea at Permatang Damar Laut, on southern Penang island. Photo: Kit Yeng

A common skink, found on the trails of Penang Hill. Photo: Kit Yeng

View of Penang island from the state’s mainland of Seberang Perai. Photo: Kit Yeng

The muddy beach of Gertak Sanggul, on the southern end of Penang island. Photo: Kit Yeng

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A bungalow characteristic of the mock-Tudor style in Fraser’s Hill, Malaysia. Photo: Oliver Raw

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Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

Malaysia’s Penang island and wider state boast at least 30 hiking trails, which are now comprehensively mapped thanks to one avid hiker’s efforts
But news of a new cable car for Penang Hill has not pleased local environmentalists, who want to make the island an example of sustainability


Malaysia’s Penang state boasts at least 30 hiking trails, many of which are now comprehensively mapped, so hikers can better enjoy the area’s outstanding natural beauty.


Malaysia

Responsible travel

Conservation

Trail running and hiking

Hike the ‘amazing’ trails in Penang, Malaysia – now there’s finally a map for them, hikers can better enjoy the area’s outstanding natural beauty

Malaysia’s Penang island and wider state boast at least 30 hiking trails, which are now comprehensively mapped thanks to one avid hiker’s efforts But news of a new cable car for Penang Hill has not pleased local environmentalists, who want to make the island an example of sustainability

Malaysia’s Penang island and wider state boast at least 30 hiking trails, which are now comprehensively mapped thanks to one avid hiker’s efforts

But news of a new cable car for Penang Hill has not pleased local environmentalists, who want to make the island an example of sustainability