Gunung Berembun Jelebu: Visiting A WWII Crash Site

Gunung Nuang was what we planned to conquer that weekend. But an unfortunate incident two weeks ago whereby a hiker plunged 100 m to his death led to the park’s closure. From what we gathered, wet weather had softened the ground and led to the man’s slippery and sudden demise. And so, plans changed and we went with Gunung Berembun instead.

As with most of my previous hiking trips in Malaysia, I knew nothing about Berembun apart from the distance we have to cover overnight and that it lies in the region of Negeri Sembilan.

In hindsight, Berembun is a tough Gunung to crack.

While Berembun may not feature the KFC checkpoint of Ophir nor the intensity of Nuang, it was a darn tough hike. We took an entire day from seven am to seven pm. I worked harder and longer in the mountains than at work! 😛

I did this trek in Jan 2018, and a jeep was needed to reach the trailhead due to poor road conditions. The situation may have changed since then!

Hiking Berembun – The Trek

The journey to the start of the trek began with a short 4-wheel drive to the base of the mountain – Gunung Berembun Trailhead at Loji Rawatan Air Pantai.

From there, it was a gradual ascent into the forest, where we encountered steep rocky sections with fallen trees. Good gloves and shoes with sticky grips helped to prevent excessive sliding on mud and leaves.

We made two river crossings too – Kampong Adidas came in handy here!

Where’s My Summit?

There weren’t any good views from the summit (1014 m), since we were in a heavily forested area.

The main attraction to Berembun isn’t the summit but the remnants of a fallen WWII plane.

The Crash Site

The return hike, including the stopover time to sight-see the crash site, was three hours long. Be prepared to enjoy the fantastic mudfest trail and the greatest mud-travagent down the slope to the debris.

End of the Hike

Oh, did I forget to mention the leeches? Berembun was full of those bloodsuckers! I spotted seven trying their luck on me. Good thing I was wearing a pair of flashy tight leggings!

It was almost dark by the time the team regrouped back into the bus. 

What’s next after the hike? Eating and relaxing spree in Kuala Lumpur, of course! Then it was time to head back to the causeway the next day. Sigh…

Another Gunung checked!