[Activities] Bukit Bongol, Kota Belud

Hiking has been the in thing since last year with the numbers of spots that you couldn't have imagine exist.  Kota Belud alone probably have over 30 spots to explore.  I have been to certain parts of Kota Belud, for hiking and camping (Kowatuan and Mt. Minodtuhan) but have yet to visit every single one of these places.

Recently, I'd planned a day trip with friends to the famous Bukit Bongol.  Now you must be wondering why this hill in my bucket list, it has been my bucket list since last year for hills to climb.  Not because it is challenging (the dog made it!) but how it will look like in a photo, we all know how everyone love beautiful photos 😂.  There are 10 peaks in of Bukit Bongol.  Yeap, you heard me, 10!!! Imagine multiple camel backs.

There are 3 known starting point to get there:-
via Pirasan
via Kinasaraban
via Kg. Mandap

We opt for Kg. Mandap coz it's said to be the shortest route to get to the peak.  It takes around 1 hour 30 minutes to get here from the city.  

We had meet up at a convenient location to carpool and left at around past 6am.  The road to this starting point is very straight forward, the map is accurate.

There's a registration counter set up there but no one was there.  Registration fee is RM2 per person, support local bah.  There's also a public toilet and shelter near the river.   

This trail goes through few stream but it's possible not to get wet (tip toe on rocks).  5km return trip.  You would probably need a better grip shoe like the adidas kampung or any good trail shoes will do.  We were told it would take roughly around 30 minutes to get to the peak but we took longer coz we stopped to take photos at every stop a.k.a. signboard we see.  It's longer via Pirasan, which would take an entire day to complete.  Bring sufficient amount of water (say 1.5 litre and some food/snacks), raincoat (just in case it rains), mosquito repellent, sunblock (unless tanning is your thing), pole/s could be useful.

Convenient steps, some with ropes.

Pit stops around the trail.

The view.

At the peak we get a glimpse of Mount Kinabalu but soon after covered by clouds.  A weebit cloudy it seems.

Reached the top!  But this is not the peak.

The Peak (kasian bah tu banner, kuyak sudah).

Overall it was a good trip, went back and dropped by Kantin Bakut Tuaran for late lunch.  Had their famous Tom Yam.  Crowded as usual.

Feel free to ask me questions, I'll get back to you soonish.  Have a pleasant day.