More than just entertainment: Genting Highlands is becoming a nature-lover's heaven starting this September

The glitz and glamour of casinos and theme parks probably come to mind whenever someone mentions Genting Highlands, but things may take a turn starting this September.

From hiking trails that are fun for the whole family, to trails along the contours of the 1,800-metre hill for the most seasoned hikers, Genting Highlands is opening up a total of 24 hiking trails over the next few years.

Awana Trail — which is also known as the Fashion Forest since 2017 — and Clearwater Way, which opened in 2022, are currently available for hikes with a private guide to preserve the forest.

While they're open daily, these hikes still aren't top of mind for most Genting Highlands fun-seekers.

Come September, they can look forward to exploring two new hikes known as the Heritage Trail and Memorial Trail. One of the toughest among the 24 trails — the Dragonback Trail, which follows through multiple ridges of the hill — will open in January 2024.

Heritage Trail, Memorial Trail, and along with Awana Trail and Clearwater Way suit hikers of varying levels, with some even suitable for kids to explore.

If you are used to the glitzy parts of Genting Highlands, you may be wondering where did they even manage to find space to carve out so many new walking trails.

To that, Genting Nature Adventure's in-charge Eddie Chan tells us that developments for roads and hotels take up less than 10 per cent of the forest.

What can you see in this 130-million-year-old rainforest?

Reputed to be 130 million years old, Genting Highland's forest is separated into three main 'parks' — Awana Bio Park at 3,000ft with its upper dipterocarp forest, Chin Swee Bio Park at 4,500ft with its montane oak forest, and Genting Bio Park at 6,000ft with its montane ericaceous forest.

Barely 30 minutes into our exploration and Eddie points us toward 'Bob Marley'. Not the king of reggae, but an Arenga pinnata, a sugar palm tree with clustering fruits that's just as iconic and aptly named by the naturalist.

"Its fruits are so sappy that even our gibbons don't even eat them," explains Eddie.

Among its flora and fauna popular among naturalists are also their pitcher plants which are endemic in this region.

Compared to the ones we see at places like Gardens by the Bay, Eddie shares that the pitcher plants in Genting Highlands don't look as "perfect" due to them being in the wild and cross-pollination between species.

Animal lovers may also want to keep a lookout for Charlie, a black panther that lives in the rainforest, slow loris Slowie, siamangs (black-furred gibbons), large moths, and various species of butterflies.

Whether it's a leisure walking trail or a back-breaking half-day hike, Genting Highlands' forest is bound to take your breath away.

Location: Resorts World Awana

Guided tour: Daily 9am and 3pm

For more information, visit Resorts World Awana.

lynette@asiaone.com

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