Gunung Korbu

Titiwangsa range, also known as the main range, stretches over 350 km long and contains some of the highest mountains in Peninsula Malaysia. The popular tourist area of Cameroon highland is also part of the main range. The main range is also one of the wettest regions of in Peninsula Malaysia. Its mountains, many of which are more than 1500m high, pushes up the water-laden clouds from the Straits of Malacca to deposit its load on the mountains. Lots of rain can be expected on this trek.

Titiwangsa traverse crosses three of the four highest mountains in Peninsula Malaysia, Gunung Korbu, the second highest at 2183m, Gunung Yong Belar, the third highest at 2181m and Gunung Gayong, the fourth highest at 2173m. Gunung Tahan, standing at 2187m is the highest mountain in Peninsula Malaysia, but it is not located in the main range. Due to the high rainfall in the main range, the vegetation found on these mountains is thicker and different from those on Gunung Tahan although Gunung Korbu is only four meters lower than Gunung Tahan.

Mossy forest at higher altitudes along Titiwangsa range

The expedition usually starts from Cameroon Highland and ends in a small settlement near Ipoh and takes about 5 days to cover. This direction of travel is understandably preferred as it starts from a higher ground and ends on the lower ground. The trek involves walking on old logging trails and some river crossings especially on the last day of the trek. Parts of the trek can be challenging as it passes through primary rainforest and mossy forest at higher altitude. At the mossy forests, there are many fallen trees and tangles of moss covered branches which you have to crawl under them. As the trek covers three mountains, the route takes you down long descents before ascending up the next mountain.

There are many other challenges on this trek. Although it rains in the afternoon, water source can be a problem. A lot of distance needs to be covered on the first day of trek to Gunung Yong Belar summit. It is usually dark when the camp is set up at the summit and water has to be brought from the last water source which is about one and a half hour before the summit. The route to that water source is also not well defined and it is a 10-minutes steep descend from the trail. At night, the temperature can fall to about 10 °C.

Gunung Gayong summit view

The next day is a descent to a campsite beside a river. However, the campsite is infested with sandflies. A burning mosquito coil will be useful to keep the sandflies away. The following day's trek to the summit of Gunung Gayong is more difficult. The last water point before the summit is an hour's trek away. However, to reach the water source, one has to make a very steep descent down the side of the ridge through primary forest and loose soil for about 20mins. The return journey usually takes about an hour. From the campsite at the top of Gunung Gayong, the town of Ipoh can be seen.

Day 4 of the trek is perhaps the easiest day. The time taken to come down from Gunung Gayong and climb up to the summit of Gunung Korbu is just over 2 hours. Clouds may cover Gunung Korbu summit and nothing can be seen. From the summit, it is a straight descent to another sandfly infested campsite beside a river. The last day of the trip is a relatively easy trek with little ups and downs. However, there are many river crossings to be made although the water level is not very high. The rest of the route to the ending point is also infested with tiger leech.

The challenge of Titiwangsa Traverse trek is comparable to that of Gunung Tahan trek. Unfortunately, the sceneries from the summit of these three mountains is usually limited by thick vegetation and poor visibility. Frequent rain in the afternoon also made the trek difficult at times. This trek is recommended for people who had trek in other mountains in Peninsula Malaysia and want something more challenging. Due to the remoteness of this region, a good guide is essential.