Pelepah Waterfalls

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SUMMARY:

Pelepah waterfalls, also known as Lombong waterfalls is located near the town of Kota Tinggi, state of Johor, Peninsular Malaysia. There are 3 main waterfalls on this hike and approximately 12 tiers (depending on how you count). It takes about 2 hours of hiking to reach the last main waterfall.

 

TRANSPORTATION:

Pelepah waterfalls is located around 15km north west from Kota Tinggi town. The actual trail head for Pelepah waterfalls sits inside a private plantation. Unless you have special vehicle access into the plantation, hikers typically starts hiking from the road outside the plantation. For consistency, we will assume that the trail head for Pelepah waterfalls begins at the road outside the plantation. The GPS coordinates for the trail head is approximately at  1.825955, 103.835774.  

By Public Transport

Kota Tinggi town is well connected to other cities/states within Malaysia. It should be fairly easy to reach Kota Tinggi bus terminal if you are coming from the other parts of Malaysia by bus. From the terminal, you can either take taxi or the public bus. The journey from the Kota Tinggi bus terminal to takes approximately 30mins.

For those taking taxi, you can direct the driver towards Kota Tinggi Waterfall Resorts. The resort and trail head are just a few meters apart.

For those taking bus, you may need to ask around to know which bus to board. Alight at Kota Tinggi Waterfalls Resorts and walk to trailhead. 

By Car

Starting from Kota Tinggi town, take route 91 heading north. At a T junction, take the route J171 (signboard “Air Terjun”) and drive all the way straight in. After about 7.2kms, you will arrive at Kota Tinggi Waterfall resorts carpark, (approximately at GPS 1.827408, 103.835483). Walk a few meters back to the trailhead.

 

TRAIL

Start by entering the gate into the plantation. As mention, the plantation is a private property (enter at your own risk) and there are past incidents of guards stopping hikers entering from the main gates. Fortunately, it seems that such incidents has not occurred in recent times. But if you are unlucky or the gate is lock, you can walk towards the bridge and enter through the stream.

There are 3 main waterfalls in Pelepah. Its takes approximately 2 hours to reach the last main waterfall. Through out the trail, there are many instances where you are walking on the rocks along the waterfalls. Many of the rocks have algae and the trail can be very slippery. 

Time (est)        Description 
 START  Enter Gate/River. Generally walk along the river
 20 mins  Cross river & turn right at T-junction
 1 min  Y- Junction. Turn left into vegetation. At the end, cross river
 5 mins  Cross river. There is a small waterfall on the right
 1 min  Path leads to bank of the river. Keep to right side of the river
 10 mins  Cross River
 1 min  
Cross river to the right bank
 1 min  Steep slope about 2 stoery high. Climb up using fixed ropes
 1 min  Cross river followed by steep climb by the left side of the waterfall. Walk through narrow valley
There is a very small cave behind the small waterfall
 6 mins Climb up left bank of the river  
 5 mins  1st main waterfall is on the left. Cross river 
 10 mins  2nd main waterfall on right, Cross river followed by a steep climb
 5 mins   T-Junction, Turn right
 5 mins  Y-Junction, turn right. Descend to the top of 2nd main waterfall. Keep by the left bank of the river
 5 mins Cross River 
 1 min  3rd main waterwall. Cross river and go on the trail on the right side of the waterfall 
 20 mins  Top of main waterfall
 30 mins    Fallen tree right across stream. Turn right into bank with another campsite. Turn left and cross stream with route directly opposite 
 2 mins   Main campsite beside a large stagnant pond. Sandfiles at this campsite

 

COST

No permits or guides are required for hiking in Pelepah waterfalls. Based on a 2009 information, the taxi ride from Kota Tinggi to Pelepah waterfalls is estimated to be RM40 one way.

 

CONTACTS 

Hospital Kota Tinggi – Tel: 07-8831131. GPS: 1.735272, 103.899301. Address: Jalan Lombong, Kota Tinggi, 81900 Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia.

General Emergency Numbers: Police / Ambulance Tel: 999 / 112 from a mobile telephone

Fire and Rescue Department (known as Bomba) Tel: 994 / 112 from a mobile telephone

Civil Defence Tel: 991

 

OTHERS

Be cautious of flash floods. The water may rise and become rapid making river crossing difficult and dangerous. It’s not true that a flash flood can only occur during heavy rain, it can happen anytime. 

 

 

2 Comments

  1. Pingback: Pelepah Waterfall on Share My Hikes | Hikers For Life Blog

  2. Hey, your information is incorrect here. You DO need a permit to enter for pelepah Kiri , and it is currently closed after land erosion in the 2023 monsoon

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