Bernama
KUALA PILAH: Bukit Baginda has been gaining a lot of interest from climbers since a video of the unusual Wave Rock went viral on social media.
Since the trail was opened to the public on Oct 6, some 1,000 climbers have come to gaze at the 40m wide x 20m high boulder with vertical ridges sitting 450m from the base of BukitBaginda in Kampung Majau.
A villager and physical education teacher, Ramlan Ruspan, 52, said those who want to climb the hill must have good stamina.
“The rock has existed for a long time but was publicised through social media by my friend, Abdul Razak Hashim, 45.
“To the best of my knowledge, a similar rock is not found anywhere else in the state. It is also quite strange with a tilted side,” he told Bernama.
Ramlan, who teaches at Sekolah Kebangsaan St Aidan, Bahau, said that as soon as the Bukit Baginda track opened to the public, he and a group of friends offered their services as guides.
“Those who have trekked up have come from France, Japan, the United Kingdom, Vietnam and the Philippines.
They praised the beauty of the forest and Wave Rock,” he said.
Besides Wave Rock, there are also four caves, but since they have not been explored, they are off limits.
“Only recently a group of researchers from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and UniversitiTeknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam, Selangor
came to survey the cave.
“I hope the state government will gazette the forest as a tourism and research area,” Ramlan said.
Admission is RM11, broken down into RM5 for the forest permit from the NegeriSembilan Forestry Department and RM6 for the Village Community Development Council (MPKK). There is also a parking fee of RM5.
“On Saturday and Sunday, the permit fee can be paid to a ranger on site, but on weekdays, the permit fee must be paid at the Kuala Pilah Forestry Office,” Ramlan said.
Kuala Pilah district is known for its megalith sites. Out of the 300 in Negri Sembilan, 70 are found here. - Bernama