Air Hitam Forest Reserve

Introduction

Until recently, Air Hitam Forest Reserve is unknown to the outdoor community, and only a handful of people know of its existence, let alone hike or trek the area.

It occupies around 1,200 hectares .. smacked in the middle of PJ,KL,Selangor Area... The original area used to be as large as 5,000 hectares but unfortunately much of it has been developed int owhat is now Puchong, Kinrara.. Equine Park.. Serdang.. etc. It is still a huge patch of green area !!

I first ventured into the area when I moved to Puchong in 1996. I had only managed to trek around the fringe of the forest reserve... and there wasn't much to see around the fringe area.

It wasn't until Dec 2008 that together with Kelvin ( a regular and pioneer trekker in AHFR) we managed to explore deeper into the Forest Reserve.

There are multiple treks in this Forest Reserve, and much of it remains out of bounds and unexplored by regular trekkers. It is under the stewardship of University Putra Malaysia (UPM) & it is actually out of bounds to public. So trekker usually keep to a loop trail in the area, and seldom venture into other area, where at times, they may bump into UPM staffs/rangers/students.

There are a few beautiful waterfalls/ponds in the area, but we will not be going there this trip...
There are still some WW2 relics, but I have not come across any.. so far...

Pristine stream.. virtually minutes away from civilisation !!

This was taken in early 2009.... very few people has explored the place at that time

My friend KC also wrote a blog and posted some pictures of AHFR during a more recent hike at http://penguin-r2.blogspot.com/2011/01/trail-running-at-puchong-hill.html

Not too long ago, this area made headlines becuase of some Puchong residents spotted a leopard & two cubs.  According to Temuan Orang Asli staying in Puchong Saujana, there are still a few tigers roaming the jungle, and a few sun bears as well.. !!

I have seen wild boars mudbath, monkeys,.. scorpions... that's about all the wild animals...

The trek we are doing is around 4 KM loop trail, and it is an easy hike, somewhat easier than Apek. The highest point in AHFR is around 233 meters only. There are two peaks there.. known since long long ago as Bukit Permatang Kumbang & Bukit Sarang Kuang... (Kumbang = Leopard & Kuang = Quail)

It will be an excellent exploratory hike.. to see our rich heritage... and light training just before our major trip !