Bukit Mor – A Leisurely Short Hike To Picture-Perfect Sunrise

Ever wanted to hike a mountain but you are worry about your fitness? You are drawn to those beautiful view at the top of the peak but hiking for several hours sounds too challenging? 

Bukit Mor, a small hill with only an elevation of 227m above sea level could be what you are looking for. 

How To Get There

Bukit Mor is located in Kampung Batu Mor, a small village in Parit Jawa, about 18km (25 min) from Muar. The trail head is located in an oil palm plantation, and most people would just park their car there.

Address: Bukit Mor, Kampung Batu Mor, Parit Jawa, 84200 Johor, Malaysia

Coordinates: N1.982429, E102.669454

Entrance/Permit: Free

Hiking Trails

Although Bukit Mor is not high in regard to its height, there are many different trails and viewpoint available, ranging from easy to moderate difficulties. We didn’t have enough time to explore all the trails, and only managed to do the following:

Day 1 : A > B > C > D > E > G > 8 (campsite)

Day 2 : 8 > 6 (Dataran Bendera Sunrise Viewpoint) > 8 (campsite) > 18 (Lion Rock) > D > C > unofficial track > A

Hiking map at the entrance

Easy Ascent

We drove from JB to Parit Jawa in the afternoon and arrived at the trail head after a two-hour drive. After packing all our ration and camping gear into our backpack, we started our hike towards the campsite. As it was already 6.45pm when we started our hike, we decided to take the shortest route towards the campsite. The trail was wide, clearly marked and we followed the hiking map and signboard towards B, C and D.

Let's get started

The sun was setting

Keep moving

Nothing to difficult

Some fallen tree trunks along the way

But overall the trail is clear, wide and marked

The local hiking community even put up some stool for hikers to rest

Moving towards "C"

From "C" to "D'

T-Junction To G and E

Once we arrived at the T-Junction at D, we took the junction towards E (go straight) which is a lot shorter than going through G (turn left).

T-junction at "D". go straight to "E"

Turned out we made the right choice as the trail towards E was relatively flat whereas the one towards G was a lot steeper and you would need to hike past two hills. E then led to F and G.

From "E" trek to "F" then head towards "G"

From "G" turn towards "D" and "S"

After about an hour hike, we finally arrived at the campsite, just as the sky turned dark. The campsite is just a short distance away from G and is wide enough to fit more than ten tents. if you will see the sign heading towards "S", you are at the right spot.

You will pass by this hill on your left

Go straight until you find a huge campsite near this sign

Barbeque Dinner At Campsite 

Tents and common ground for dinner and games

The sky was dark by the time we finished setting up our tents

Preparing for barbeque dinner

After setting up our tent, we set up the barbeque pit for dinner. Ykai who was in-charge of organising this camping trip had prepared the following food and beverages for the 12 of us:

- One whole herbal roasted duck from 822 Super Duck King

- Fusilli pasta with cream sauce

- 40 chicken winglets (for barbeque)

- Chicken skewers (for barbeque)

- Broccoli and golden mushroom with cheese (for barbeque)

- 1.5 carton of Guinness Stout

- 0.5 carton of Carlsberg

- Peanuts and other snacks 

Chicken winglets

Skewers

Broccoli with cheese

Golden mushroom with cheese

1.5 carton of Guinness Stout and half a carton of Carlsberg

We had a blast that night, eating, drinking and playing card games until 2.30am. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice any stars or milky way that night. Probably not a good location or time for that matter. 

Sunrise At Dataran Bendera (lowest peak)

Sunrise in Malaysia is roughly 7am, so we made sure to wake up before 6.30. The sunrise viewpoint (Dataran Bendera) is just about 5minutes walk away but we wanted to be there earlier to wait for the “egg yolk”.

Dataran Bendera

Perfect for sunrise

Must take a solo photo here (taken when the sun was already up)

Although Dataran Bendera (literally means “Flag Plains”) is the lowest peak of Bukit Mor, it is however the best spot for sunrise.

Waiting for sunrise

Waiting for sunrise

At the edge of the plains is a small rock where a Malaysia flag stood proudly. Everyone would either sit or stand on the rock with the layers of surrounding foggy valleys and oil palm plantations in the background. The sky turned from purple to pink and slowly the morning sun rose to greet us.

Look at the layers of morning mists in between the valleys

The sun is shinning but yet to show itself

"Egg yolk" sunrise

Sunrise

Let's have a cup of coffee/tea

The rising sun

The Malaysian flag standing proudly

Love sign but the cameraman snapped the shutter way too fast

With everyone taken enough photos, we headed back to the campsite for breakfast before packing up for our descent.

Back to campsite to have breakfast and pack

Group photo at the campsite

Lion Rock Viewpoint (aka General Rock)

Dataran Bendera is not the only sunrise viewpoint, as there is also a higher peak right opposite and a rock formation near our campsite which resembles a lion. The local called it The General Rock, but I’d prefer calling it the Lion Rock due to its close resemblance. It’s only a 5-min walk from the campsite and is along the other trail towards D which we had decided to take. Instead of going through the same route as the previous day, we figured it would be more fun to explore another trail.

Trail leading to Lion Rock

Lion Rock

To get a nice shot of the Lion Rock, we would need to climb up, but do remember to do it carefully. It’s important to wear a shoe with good grip. I was intimidated with the height of the rock and the lack of space up there to stand, hence I ended up only sitting down for photos.

I tried my best but I had fear for heights, so "sit" it is

Aerial view of Lion Rock thanks to Ykai's drone

Although I gave up standing, the others who are braver did manage to do it with style.

Descent

By 9.30am, we continued towards D, following the trail which we didn’t take the day before. Turned out, this trail is more challenging especially for our team who were carrying more than 10kg bag.

Possibly the actual peak, where flags from different states stands proudly

We need to go up and down two hills (on the way we passed by another peak with lots of flag) before we could reach the T junction. Thankfully, the distance isn’t too long and in about half an hour, we reached the T-junction at D.

An alternative exit route halfway

Keep following the direction to "D"

Again, just keep moving towards "D"

At one point we descended to the lowest point...

.... before going uphill again

Finally coming out to D. This is the same junction on the first day where we skipped

Exit sign! Just keep moving

From there, we could take the same D > C > B > A route as before, but Vambly and Ykai who had hiked this hill before guided us towards an unofficial trail which brought us from C straight to A without going through B.

It’s not shown in the trail map at the entrance, but I’ve drawn in here for your reference:

See above yellow drawn trail (unofficial)

At this sign, walk straight down instead of turning to "B"

This trail is less boring as we could get some different view. It’s downhill all the way and we saw some scenery from a distance. Finally entered what seemed like a privately-owned land which connects to the same oil palm plantation at the trail head. Voila! We have reached our car.

Nice view isn't it?

Love those tall trees

And the mystical feel of this scenery

Would be perfect at dawn or dusk

Out to the car park

Lunch at Mei Teng Pan Mee & Fish Noodle

After loading our bags and gears into the car, we drove to Kampung Baru Bukit Mor, where we had our lunch at Mei Teng Pan Mee & Fish Noodle.

Address: 77, Kampung Batu Mor, 84150, Johor, Malaysia

Opening hours: 9am- 3pm (closed on Monday)

Coordinates: N1.975059, E102.662153

Contrary to the shop name, we did not find any pan mee in their menu, but local recommended their award-winning fish head beehoon soup (which they won from a cooking competition I supposed) and claypot savoury porridge. The fish head beehoon soup is nothing to shout about but their porridge is so delicious we had to order another portion. The porridge comes with generous ingredients such as raw eggs, fried egg, salted egg, century egg, fried fish fillet, preserved radish, fried shallots, and spring onions. As it has eight ingredients, we called it the eight-treasure porridge.

Left: Eight treasure porridge, Right: Fish head beehoon soup

With our tummy filled, we drove back to JB with a pit-stop at Pagoh R&R to take a shower. With that, it summed up our yet another fulfilling weekend, with many more in anticipation. 

Epilogue

Bukit Mor is another example of a leisure hike with rewarding view. The hike is fairly easy which is manageable even to beginners, yet the stunning panoramic view beat many other higher mountains, making it a worthwhile trip for hikers or photo enthusiast. There are plenty of different trails to explore here, and I’m sure I will return someday to see the other sides of Bukit Mor.

Till then!

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Thank you for reading all the way till the end. Too much info and you just want a summarised itinerary but too lazy to scroll back up? Here’s a summary I’ve drafted up for you. Hope it helps you with your planning.

Itinerary:

**Disclaimer: Below is my timing according to my speed. So please take it with a grain of salt, as everyone have different pace. Have fun hiking this mountain. *wink*

Day 1 

Total distance hiked: unknown (estimated less than 2km)

1830: Gather at trail head

1845: Start hiking

1930: Reach campsite (set up tent, prepare dinner and rest)

Day 2

Total distance hiked: unknown (estimated less than 3km)

0615: Wake up

0630: Hike to Dataran Bendera Sunrise Viewpoint (sunrise around 7am)

0745: Back to campsite (breakfast and packing)

0900: Hike to Lion Rock Viewpoint (photo session)

0930: Descent

1030: Reach trail head

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-Thanks for reading-