Lata Medang – A waterfall near Kuala Kubu Bharu

Yesterday I went for a hike to Lata Medang, a remote and seldom visited waterfall near Kuala Kubu Bharu (KKB).

KKB is a pleasant small town situated on the road to Fraser’s Hill.

Kuala Kubu Bharu

The start of the trail is a few kilometers out of town near the village of Kampung Pertak, just past the Selangor Dam and reservoir. This is Orang Asli country and some of them were displaced when the reservoir was built. The Government built quite a smart looking village for those affected.

Modern resort style cottages for Orang Asli villagers

I was accompanied by two Dutch friends including Jan who is the author of the website Waterfalls of Malaysia. He has been to Lata Medang three times before and knew the way which is just as well because I don’t think I would have found it on my own. The distance walked (there and back) was about 12km and it took 6 hours including time for lunch and a soak at the falls.

The start of the hike passes through old rubber plantations and durian orchards. The durian is in season now and the villagers were harvesting this valuable crop. There are a couple of rickety bridges to negotiate along the way.

One of the metal suspension bridges is no longer suspended!

Considering how few people use the trail it is quite clearly defined but there are a few forks in the path providing ample opportunity to go the wrong way. Jan frequently checked his GPS in order to check we were on the right trail.

One of these forks leads to Bukit Kutu, a 1050m mountain which I would like to climb on a future trip. On the top are the ruins of a sanatorium and residence built as a hill station during British colonial times. Seems odd that anyone would want to build a sanatorium in a place whose name translates as ‘Flea Hill’ but that’s the Brits for you!.

Turn right for Bukit Kutu, left for Lata Medang

We saw no animals on the trek, no snakes either thankfully, just a lot of bugs such as this millipede.

Why are you taking a photo of me?

All three of us were visited by leeches. I managed to flick mine away before they extracted an involuntary blood donation.

The first waterfall we stopped at is called Lubuk Mecu, a lovely spot with clear and refreshingly chilly water. We had a swim and lunch here.

Lubuk Mecu

The area is very clean with no litter. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Lubuk Mecu even has a 'beach'.

Lata Medang is only 200m from here but there is no clear path. You need to scramble through bamboo forest, clamber over rocks and walk in the river to reach it. Here my expensive Timberland boots decided to fall apart (the sole fell off). Fortunately I was carrying  a new pair of kampung adidas, a type of basis Malaysian-made rubber shoe favoured by rural workers and the guides who climb Mt. Kinabalu. They are not very stylish but practical for walking in rivers (and cheap – I paid RM8 for mine).

Jan in the river and my Kampung Adidas (are my legs really that white?).

Finally we made it to Lata Medang which was looking lively after the recent heavy rains.

Lata Medang 15 Dec 11

If you want to go there, Jan will soon be writing a page on his Waterfalls of Malaysia website with instructions on how to get there.

I took a short video of the falls and my ten year old daughter has posted it on a YouTube channel for me. Here is the link:

Lata Medang

18 thoughts on “Lata Medang – A waterfall near Kuala Kubu Bharu”

  1. I went there two weeks ago following the information provided on Waterfalls of Malaysia’s website. It was clear enough for me to find the waterfall, however, I did not find the name of river on which Lata Medang is, would you happen to know its name?

  2. According to my friend’s blog, it is called ‘White Crystal Waterfall’.. Just been there last weekend.. Beautiful !

  3. my friend and i are thinking of organizing a trek to lata medang coming december and hope that it will be convenient for you to help clarify some of our questions.

    1. do you know if is there a need for any permit for trekking? can we camp overnight at lubuk mecu or where would be good? any permit necessary?
    2. do you remember how long you took to travel to lata medang from lubuk mecu, the 200m stretch?
    3. we will be taking a bus from singapore to hentian puduraya at KL. how would you advise us to travel to the start of the trek (we are not driving)? to take a cab directly from KL or to travel to KKB first etc.?

    thanks and hope to hear from you soon.

    regards,
    yan

    1. Hi Yan,
      To answer your questions:
      1. No permit is required for trekking or camping here. Lubuk Mecu would probably be the best spot to camp.
      2. It took about 2 hours to hike from the trail head to Lubuk Mecu and a further 15 minutes or so to cover the remaining 200m stretch.
      3. Probably better (and much cheaper) to take the KTM Komuter train from KL Sentral to KKB and catch a cab at KKB station. A KKB cab driver is more likely to know where to go.
      Read Waterfalls of Malaysia website for more details if you have not already done so.
      Good luck with your trip and take care.
      David

  4. Hi David,

    thanks for your clarifications! also to check, how big is the site at lebuk mecu? will it be able to accommodate a group of 10-20?

    Regards,
    Yan

  5. whenever im going to hv weekend activities involving walking, running, wading thru water, wading thru beaches, some climbing, hiking, e.g. walking up the cape rachado lighthouse at blue lagoon & venture down on its many secluded beaches, i use asadi croc shoes. i bought a couple of them from tesco for around rm10 each. i guess all tesco sold them? it is so light, with back sling/support, feel like it cling comfortably to my feet and very durable and is not slippery when jumping from rock to rock. i would even dare to use it climb mount kinabalu.
    see sample here (not my website):
    http://che-cheh.com/lifestyle/so-in-love-with-crocs/

  6. anybody could help me ..i want to do some survey and study about their life at perkampungan org asli..then may i have their contac number or anythg so that i could reach them..

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