Day trip from KL (1 Viewer)

[floodlelandbirder]

Hello all,

I'll be in KL for a few days in January and wanted to take one day to try to get to a site like Bukit Tinggi for some endemic specialties. I won't have the time to go to Fraser's Hill so Bukit Tinggi is much more convenient. My main target would be species like Ferruginous Partridge, Broadbills, Golden Babbler, Malayan Laughingthrush, and the Peacock Pheasant would be nice too. Is it possible to do this solo and without a car? The costs for a bird guide seem quite steep and I'm not sure it would be worth it. I'd mostly just need some way to get up there and get back (Probably a hired driver) and to pay the gate fees.

Has anyone done this? I see previous threads, but they included self-driving to Bukit Tinggi. Any other options to do it cheaply? Is it advisable? Otherwise, I may do Sungai Congkak which seems much easier to get to and still has a chance for nice species.

Any guidance is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

[Shumi]

Hello all,

I'll be in KL for a few days in January and wanted to take one day to try to get to a site like Bukit Tinggi for some endemic specialties. I won't have the time to go to Fraser's Hill so Bukit Tinggi is much more convenient. My main target would be species like Ferruginous Partridge, Broadbills, Golden Babbler, Malayan Laughingthrush, and the Peacock Pheasant would be nice too. Is it possible to do this solo and without a car? The costs for a bird guide seem quite steep and I'm not sure it would be worth it. I'd mostly just need some way to get up there and get back (Probably a hired driver) and to pay the gate fees.

Has anyone done this? I see previous threads, but they included self-driving to Bukit Tinggi. Any other options to do it cheaply? Is it advisable? Otherwise, I may do Sungai Congkak which seems much easier to get to and still has a chance for nice species.

Any guidance is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Hello - I went to Bukit Tinggi for one morning in late July. I was with a local person and I had a rented car. I certainly think you can go solo there (although having a local knowledgeable person would probably contribute to your experience - this was my case at least). But I do not think going without a car would be practical (or even possible).

The road going up to Bukit Tinggi appeared to be quite remote to me (although the quality of the road itself was good), and I did not notice any public transportation there. Also, at one point up the road we encountered a checkpoint with a security guy - and if you go alone, I guess you may need to inquire in advance how to act at that checkpoint (I did not have to bother, since I was with a local).

In terms of birds - certainly Bukit Tinggi is one of the best (or simply the best?) locations in the world to see Ferruginous Partridge and Mountain Peacock-Pheasant. They are fed there regularly, and sightings are pretty much regular (at least that was the case in June-July this year, and appears to still be the case given my quick check of ebird records just now).

Feel free to reach out should you need any more info.

 

[floodlelandbirder]

Hello - I went to Bukit Tinggi for one morning in late July. I was with a local person and I had a rented car. I certainly think you can go solo there (although having a local knowledgeable person would probably contribute to your experience - this was my case at least). But I do not think going without a car would be practical (or even possible).

The road going up to Bukit Tinggi appeared to be quite remote to me (although the quality of the road itself was good), and I did not notice any public transportation there. Also, at one point up the road we encountered a checkpoint with a security guy - and if you go alone, I guess you may need to inquire in advance how to act at that checkpoint (I did not have to bother, since I was with a local).

In terms of birds - certainly Bukit Tinggi is one of the best (or simply the best?) locations in the world to see Ferruginous Partridge and Mountain Peacock-Pheasant. They are fed there regularly, and sightings are pretty much regular (at least that was the case in June-July this year, and appears to still be the case given my quick check of ebird records just now).

Feel free to reach out should you need any more info.

Thank you for the reply! It seems like I should focus more on more lowland birding closer to KL and return for the highlands later this trip. Something to hopefully look forward to for next time!