Hike Gunung Arong, Mersing, Johor

by

9 February 2016

Gunung Arong is recently listed as the TOP 10 must hike hill in Peninsular Malaysia on Says.com. As our hobby is hiking, we do a lot of research before we hike. Why do we choose Gunung Arong to hike?

  • Gunung Arong is just 40 minutes away from Mersing town. it is only 1.5 hours to 2 hours from Johor Bahru.
  • On good weather, we can see the beautiful sea view from the mountain view point.
  • The hiking trail is relatively easy to hike
  • It is very windy during our hike.
  • Good seafood meal around Mersing town after the hike (the most important reason)

PS: please remember to get hiking permit. We have been warned by local villagers. T.T

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The sea view from the mountain is very beautiful. However, it is too misty on the day we hike.

After driving 1.5hr from Johor Bahru to Tanjung Resang, we still not able to find the village road leading to the Gunung Arong. Around 10:00am, we stopped by Tanjung Resang Resort for the road map.

Road Map to Gunung Arong Base Camp

1) Set Tanjung Resang on WAZE app or Google Map on your smart phone. You will reach to a “t” junction.

2) Turn into this village road when you see this sign board. Until this day, I still don't know the road name. The villagers just said "Jalan itu"
2) Turn into this village road when you see this sign board. Until this day, I still don’t know the road name. May be is Jalan Marris.
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3) Drive along the path until you reach a “Y” junction. You will see a little shop house as the image above. Drive on the right road. Follow the red arrow (Drawn by LerLer).
4) You will see oil palm plantation around you as you drive down the road.
4) You will see oil palm plantation around you as you drive down the road. After the oil palm plantation, you will see secondary forest as shown above.
5) You will see the base camp. Park your car near the resting hut.
5) You will see the base camp. Park your car near the resting hut.

The Hiking Journey with Detail

1) The Gunung Arong hiking entrance.
1) The Gunung Arong hiking entrance. Please try to get the hiking permit before your hiking day. PS: We have been warned by the local villagers.
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2) The first 300m of the hiking path is quite steep. Please use the rope along the hiking path
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3) There are many big rocks along the hiking trait. Thus, the mountain will be closed during raining season.
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4) My hiking speed is realtively slow. I take 45 minutes to reach Gunung Arong view point.
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5) We enjoy our tea break at this resting house.
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6) Due to the bad weather, we do not hike to Teluk Gorek sea side. We hike back the old path. I just love this big tree structure.
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6) After 30 minutes hiking, we reach back the base camp. We rest beside the small water fall.

How to Apply Hiking Permit in Johor

1) Visit Johor Forestry Website.

Image Credit: www.johor.forestry.gov.my

2) Contact East Johor District Forest Office at +607-7981 030 / +607-799 3363. Please try to get someone to speak Malay language to contact the forest officer. The office’s operating hour is Tuesday to Thursday, 8am to 4pm for smooth procedure

PS: Monday is the forest maintenance day. Friday is Muslim prayer day. I tried to contact them on weekend (Saturday and Sunday) but never success.
3) Submit or fax at +607-7995 352 the hikers’ detail to the East Johor District Forest Office (Pejabat Hutan Johor Timur)

  • Name
  • IC Number( for Malaysian) / Passport number (for non-Malaysian)
  • Address
  • Contact number
  • Name of the next of kin
  • Contact number of the next of kin

4) Hiking permit fee is RM10.00 (include GST) per person (as per February 2016 charges). The officer will give you the payment detail.

5) If you want to save the forest permit application, please contact Mr. Zaharudin.  His part-time job is mountain guide around Endau Forest.

Mountain Guide: Encik Zaharudin
Tel: +6019-789-8298 / +6019-723-9504



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