Mountain Irau (Gunung Irau) is 2110 m (6900ft), making it the tallest peak in Cameron Highlands and the 15th tallest in Malaysia. Gunung Irau is a popular destination among hikers, who usually trek there from nearby Gunung Brinchang, a journey of three hours each way, passing through the fragile ecosystem of the Mossy Forest. At the peak of Gunung Irau is a marker that marks the boundary between Perak and Pahang.


How to get there

From Pudu Raya Bus Terminal (KL), take a bus to Tanah Rata, Cameron Highland. Take another bus to the town of Berinchang.
The trail is definitely not for beginner in hiking, if possible try to get an experience guide to lead.

There are 2 peaks at Gunung Irau. The first one meant for camping, but we didn't plan to camp there, it just serve a rest point for us.  Hike to Baby Irau from car park should take about 2 - 3 hours. It take another 1.5 - 2 hours to Gunung Irau. The peak is actually a small platform which can fit around 30 people.

Our Journey Begin

We started our journey at 9AM. There are 19 of us, quite a big group as well.
We were quite easy on the beginning. We actually spent quite some time on taking pictures despite lack of time. We knew we shouldn't but the photos will be the best memory for us.

The journey for this hike is actually quite different. We trek down from Gunung Brinchang, then head back up to Gunung Irau. For Gunung Irau, there are actually 2 peaks. The first one is meant for camping. But before we could reached the first peak, we had to headed up for at least 2 hours. The hardest part was the 45 minutes hike when it approaching the peak. The route is 45 degree and we really needed to use both of our hand and leg to hike, holding the rock or root to lift our body up. Myself really feel exhausted.  

This is the photo taken from the hardest part of the trip. In actual, it was 45 degree slope or even more.

I reached there at 11:30AM, but some of the group member still left far away. For those who reached the first peak, we started to eat the enegry bar, bread and even maggie mee to regain our enegry. It was extremely cool to taste a hot coffee or hot maggie mee at this cold temperature.

We rested about 45 minutes and we started to continue our hike to the highest peak without waiting the rest of the group to reach the first peak. Honestly, Mountain Irau isn't for beginner, that's why some of the group member were left far behind, all of them are rookie.

It should take another hour to reach the peak. But my body already started to feel tiredness, this is the period that actually challenges my mind. It still need to drag my body to move for another hour, so every time I headed up, I was expecting the peak. But it was not. This happened for more than 5 to 10 times.

When we finally reach the peak, we are really very happy and contented. We took photo and take a break before we heading down.