Gunung Stong
A Seven Tiered Waterfall Falling Several Hundred Metres Off A Kelantan Mountain, Climbed To A Camp At Its Head And Reached By One Of The Last Jungle Railways · Dabong, Kelantan
JELAWANG FALLS COMES OFF GUNUNG STONG IN SEVEN TIERS AND DROPS SEVERAL HUNDRED METRES, which makes it one of the tallest waterfalls in Southeast Asia and, on the days it is running hard, an genuinely overwhelming thing to stand under. YOU CLIMB TO IT - a steep, sweaty couple of hours through forest - AND MOST PEOPLE CAMP AT BASEKAMP BAHA, a flat shelf beside the falls partway up, then go on to the summit before dawn. THE OTHER HALF OF THE STORY IS GETTING THERE. DABONG IS ON THE EAST COAST LINE - THE JUNGLE RAILWAY - one of the last lines of its kind, running through the interior of the peninsula at walking pace, stopping wherever anyone flags it down, and taking most of a day. THE TRAIN IS THE BEST PART OF THE TRIP AND ALMOST NOBODY PLANS IT THAT WAY. There are caves at Dabong too. Camp at Basekamp Baha rather than day-tripping, because the shelf beside the falls at dusk is the point, and check both the railway timetable and how much water is coming over - the falls thin badly in a dry spell.
Gunung Stong State Park, Dabong, Kelantan, Dabong, Kelantan, Malaysia
DABONG IS REACHED ON THE EAST COAST RAIL LINE - the JUNGLE RAILWAY - from GEMAS or KOTA BHARU, taking most of a day and running to a SPARSE AND OFTEN-CHANGING TIMETABLE; check locally rather than trusting anything published. There is also a road. FROM DABONG IT IS A SHORT DRIVE AND THEN A RIVER CROSSING TO THE TRAILHEAD. A GUIDE IS STRONGLY ADVISED AND CAMPING PERMITS ARE ARRANGED LOCALLY. THE CLIMB TO BASEKAMP BAHA IS A STEEP TWO HOURS OR SO; the summit is a further pre-dawn push. THE FALLS ARE SEASONAL IN VOLUME - spectacular after rain, thin in dry spells. THE MONSOON, ROUGHLY NOVEMBER TO JANUARY, brings flooding to Kelantan and can close roads and the railway entirely. LEECHES ARE ROUTINE. Carry everything up.