Well the title seems like a post where I'll give you some tips on what you need to know about the famous mossy forest right? Yeah right, you should google that on a more trusted site. I'm here to share about my experience (and of course some tips but mostly about me because it is my blog duhh). So lets get started (at least pretend you're excited as well).
Getting there:
No matter from which corner of the world you're from, getting there is not easy. First you need to get to Cameron Highland (trust me if you can afford to hope on a helicopter and get up there, you should!) It took about 1 hour and a half to reach Cameron Highland from Tapah. The road was bumpy and you'll see trace of landslides along the way (it was a miracle to survive this route).
The Accommodation:
Once you're in Cameron Highland you can opt to stay in a hotel be it 5 stars or a dorm (whatever rocks your boat).Since I'm on tight budget (always on a tight budget) and I don't have a million ringgit in my bank account so I choose to sleep in my car with the window open. Believe me, the breeze from outside feels like Elsa having a PMS while singing Let it go. It was freaking cold.
To Mount Irau (Mossy Forest):
And the next day, woke up half dead (damn Elsa almost gave me frostbite). I went to the petrol station to get clean and slipped into my hiking outfit. So around 6.30 am, I waited for the hiking group in front of Cameron Square (a mall wannabe) located in front of the Mossy Forest entrance. I got onto a 4WD and yet again it was a miracle to survive the ride up to Mount Irau.
Pre Hike:
Once there, I was briefed about the trail to reach the peak of Mount Irau. I wasn't listening that much because in my mind I was already excited about the photoshoot I'm going to have inside the Mossy Forest (God knows how I wished I've had listen to the ranger). Because all I heard was goodluck and have fun. (oh fun yes).
The Hike Part 1:
It started with a nice and easy platform trail and I was thinking this is going to be a piece of chiffon cake. Well my chiffon cake was quickly snatced just after 10 minutes into the hike. The ranger said 'okay our real hike starts now'. He showed the muddy trail in front of me and he further explained that the trail will have few mud pools and a day before a woman sunk half way into the mud pool. Comforting isn't it to know the possibility of you being eaten by a mud pool. The hike took about two hours or so to reach the peak of Mount Irau. ( I can drive back to KL in 2 hours please!) The trail was very challenging and at some point I felt like I was doing rock climbing instead of hiking. Plus, trying to figure out the waist deep mud pool was nerve wrecking. Imagine, wrong decision equals having a mud spa while holding on for dear life.
The Hike Part 2:
So along the hike, you'll see the glory of Mossy Forest. Some said it looks like Lord of the ring jungle, some said it looks like the forest from Twilight but for me, I saw a photoshoot background. You better bring your powerbanks ( yes powerbanks because one is never enough especially when others shamelessly asked to charge their phone as well). This was the result of 'or so' in the 2 hours or so hike to the peak. You felt the need to stop at every moss covered trees to take a photo. Please please and please, besides your powerbanks and awesome iPhone 7 plus or Galaxy S8. Please bring along someone who can at least take a decent photo. I know I can but I'm not going to take selfies with the trees. The trees will laugh at me.
The Peak:
So you reached the peak and just like any other mountain peak. The view was breath-taking. I saw KLCC from up there (most probably because I miss the city and can't wait to go back) well you can't see KLCC from up there obviously. But the point is the view was worth the climb (* cue Miley Cyrus - The climb*). Up there I had my pre-packed lunch and took a few photos and that was it. I spent about 40 minutes up there because I was trying to figure out how to assemble my broken limbs.
The Way Down:
Oh I forgot to tell all of you that I was the first to reach the peak from my group (*Switced on the applause sign*). So the ranger told me to go down first if I wanted to and hell yes I went down running like Lara Croft (I was actually in character the whole way down to base) and it took me just 1 and half hour or so to reach the base. I was jumping from tree to tree and been dogding the poisonous arrows from every corner of the forest. (it was kind of fun you know having all the imaginations playing in your head). Once at the base, I slept for almost an hour before my whole group arrived.
Closing:
To me it was a fun experience but I'm not a jungle person because I prefer the beach more (in term of escaping into the nature). But the scenery was worth it and making new friends along the hike was precious. One thing that I would suggest is please bring someone who can take a good photos with you. My goal was to have an avant garde photoshoot but I couldn't even get someone to help me take it. I feel the need to go back there again but my body wouldn't let me. So that was all from me for this time. Till we meet again in the next post.
p/s: if you're good at taking photos and want to go hike there, please let me know.