Secret Cascade: Lata Cemerong (Cemerong Waterfall)

There are some reasons why Malaysia is better than Singapore: food, beaches and waterfalls. Especially waterfalls.

Tan and I went tripping to Malaysia on 16-22 May, hitting Terengganu state and finally completing our visits to the three eastern coastal states (Kelantan and Pahang). The plan this year was to get some hiking done, get a feel of the state capital Kuala Terengganu and see Lata Cemerong (Air Terjun Cemerong, or Cemerong Waterfall), supposedly the tallest in Malaysia.

Planning how to get to Cemerong Waterfalls was a challenge in itself. Some travel agencies do organise day-trips from Kuala Terengganu, but many of these trips are contingent on a minimum number. So we found a travel agency based in KT that does homestays, and booked three days, two days in Kampong Pasir Raja, the nearest to Cemerong Waterfall.

The long journey by road from KT to Pasir Raja & Cemerong Waterfalls

Pasir Raja is really off the radar for most people. People who live in Teregaganu don’t know where it is, and our driver nearly got lost finding it. We trusted both our agency and the driver to get us there, and for one breathless moment, it was just us and our driver by the banks of the Sungei Dungun wondering where everybody was. But then our host (Pak Nan) showed up, we went to his place and he set us up for the next two days.

An entire post can be written about Pasir Raja. It’s such a lovely, peaceful place. The residents there make the most of their surroundings, water buffalo wander up and down the river and people there were immensely friendly to us. My Malay isn’t very good so we had to get along with a lot of hand gestures and butchered Bahasa Melayu.

But back to Cemerong Waterfalls.

Cemerong Waterfalls is a tall, (about 320 metres) remote waterfall. However, when approaching Pasir Raja, you can see the falls on the hills, some 5km away. They look like a thin white line slipping down the hillslide.

The waterfalls are located in Hutan Lipur Cemerong (Cemerong Recreational Park), about one-and-a-half hours from Kuala Terengganu (about 100km), and 45 minutes (>50 km) in from the the Kuantan-Kuala Terengganu highway. At a T-junction before one reaches Kampong Shukor and Pasir Raja, the way to the waterfall is on the right.

Having trekked waterfalls in Pahang and Kelantan, Hutan Lipur Cemerong is so far the best place I’ve seen to start waterfall exploring. There’s a carpark, with showers, campsite and friendly staff who will guide you to the falls if you ask.

Showers on the left, park HQ on the right, forest all around

The trek to the waterfalls with our host took roughly an hour through pristine rainforest. We didn’t see a lot of signs. A concrete path marked the beginning of the trail at the right of the water tower.

Water tower on the left, trail begins on the right

The first main landmark is a suspension bridge. On the other side of the bridge is the trail to Gunung Berumbun (1110m), Lake Kenyir and beyond. There’s no route to the plunge pool of Cemerong Waterfalls from the other side.

For avid climbers, this new-looking suspension bridge leads to Gunung Berumbun

From the suspension bridge, the lower falls come into view. If a one hour trek’s sounds too daunting, swimming here is good too.

The lower falls

The concrete path abruptly ends and the trail goes through the forest.

Concrete path fades into the forest

By the river, the stream flowing from Cemerong runs through multiple rapids. And in the pristine forest, all sorts of plants grow in abundance in the shade.

Pitcher plants en route to Cemerong Waterfalls

To put it clearly: the trail is tough. We encountered stream crossings, traverses over exposed roots, sheer hillside faces, and vertical climbs up sandy slopes. Halfway through the trek lies a destroyed suspension bridge that cuts off access to the higher parts of the trail. However, there are several rope ladders that allowed us to follow the trail.

The wrecked suspension bridge

After an hour of trekking, we came to a ledge where the forest overlooked the stream.

There, our host led us to a pool, sheltered from the current and aflame with sunshine. From the pool, the entire height of the waterfall stretched away above us. We were far enough to escape the plunging water, but near enough to feel the current. So we used this pool as our private bathing spot for about two hours. (We found traces that other people had camped here before. If you’re planning on setting up camp here, be careful of the current in the stream: it’s deep and strong).

The pool, half-in and half-out of the sun 

Cemerong Waterfalls in all its glory (with humans for scale)

Two hours in front of this marvellous work of nature – all worth a hard hour’s trek.

Additional Notes: Park entrance fees are 2RM for Malaysians and 5RM for foreigners. Speaking to the park staff, there’s a trail to the even more remote Lasir Waterfall near Lake Kenyir from the park. But it takes at least a full day to get there.