The 873-hectare forest reserve contains a buzzing chunk of Penang's virgin rainforests. Guides are rarely available, so pick up a hiking leaflet at the ranger's office at the park entrance or at the Forestry Department in Georgetown; the leaflets have trail maps and some information on plant identification. Also ask at either of these offices about camping in the reserve. There's a small forestry museum near the ranger's office.
To get to the park entrance from Batu Ferringhi, get off the bus 101 at the Teluk Bahang roundabout, turn left and walk 15 minutes. The park entrance will be on your left just past the Penang Butterfly Farm.
Trails
There are only five mapped trails in the park, the best-known being the Penang Hill Forest Challenge , the longest trail in Penang, which leads all the way to the top of 821m Penang Hill. This walk is obviously less strenuous in the downhill direction and is covered in the Penang Hill section; from the Teluk Bahang end, expect the trek to take at least eight hours. One of the better walks is the easy 800m Monkey-Cup Forest Trail where you can search for carnivorous 'monkey-cups', more commonly known as pitcher plants. Intermediate trails are the 1.2km Simpoh Gajah Trail , which passes through virgin jungle, the 2.9km Charcoal Kiln Trail , which has some gnarly uphill bits through lovely forest to an old 1950s charcoal kiln; and the much more difficult 4.2km Ridge Top Trail , which branches off the Charcoal Kiln Trail to reach a ridge 400m above sea level. This last trail has some fantastic views over Telok Bahang, as well as pitcher plants to look out for along the way – if you don't have too much blinding sweat stinging your eyes.
