How to go to Fraser's Hill without a car

A trip to Fraser's Hill is a excellent nature retreat. Fraser's Hill is also a great destination for endurance sports such as road cycling and long-distancing running as the weather is cool and the air is fresh. However, anyone expecting shopping opportunities or a luxury resort paradise would be sorely disappointed. There will be tons of bugs in this pristine rainforest and there is a the lack of modern day amenities and gas station. Local residents, from Kuala Lumpur, come to Fraser's Hill for a weekend retreat via car and their drive could be 2.5 hours without a traffic jam. A traffic jam can happen over a weekend, public holiday or an event held at Frasers hill.

How to get to Fraser's hill (Bukit Fraser) without driving a car

We did not drive to Fraser's from KL ourselves because we were unfamiliar with Kuala Lumpur traffic and unsure of driving through that windy road to Fraser's. Instead, we took an hour's train ride to Kuala Kubu Bahru station and then an hour's taxi from there. In total, it was 78USD total for 2 people from KL airport (return trip). We did encounter several energetic people who had cycled from Kuala Kubu Bahru all the way up Fraser's Hill.

^ That dauntingly squiggly road to Fraser's from Kuala Kubu Bahru

We did see people who manage to arrive at Fraser's at late night. Generally the roads here are mostly quite well-maintained and don't have large pot holes.

The bus to Fraser's hill has been discontinued many years ago. If you are coming in a big group, consider hiring a van or bus instead which would be more economical and efficient fuel-wise.

It is possible to hire a van or taxi to drive from KL and all the way to Fraser's but this is not only very expensive, but possibly tiring. I will recommend taking the train from KL Sentral to Kuala Kubu station, then from there, take the taxi to fraser's hill as Kuala Lumpur has notorious traffic jams and it is much cheaper. It is not much longer in terms of duration.

Taking the train to Kuala Kubu Bahru

If you are coming from KLIA (KL airport), you have to take the KL express to KL Sentral station (Not the normal train which would take much longer) first. This train ride costs around RM40 and takes around 33minutes. You can use the Touch n Go card to pay for train rides. The touch n go card is pretty useful and you can use it from taking the public transport within KL and also it works like a cashcard at some stores. You can buy this at many places such as the airport train station or KL sentral.

To get to Fraser's hill from KL Sentral station, you first have to take the KTM train from KL Sentral station to Kuala Kubu Bahru (KKB) station (1h 15min). Do check the train schedule on KTM website as the train frequency is usually either every 30min or 60min and actual train departure timings are not exactly accurate. After getting off the train station, you can get a taxi from KKB train station directly to Fraser's Hill OR spend a night in Kuala Kubu Bahru town before going to Fraser's hill by taxi the next day. (and that was what we did)

^ KKB town was an interesting short stop

^ swift nest in the building opposite Yogi Cafe and next to Ceria 99

We enjoyed some local cuisines in this small sleepy town in KKB. There is often a taxi driver stationed outside KKB train station to pick tourists up to go to KKB town. (around RM 10). Otherwise, you can contact me (email in About tab above) for the contacts of some KKB taxi drivers (They are taxi drivers i met on this trip). Alternatively, it's possible to walk 40minutes to KKB town from the KKB train station. (not recommended in this heat)

Taking the taxi up to Fraser's Hill

There is no Grab or other ride-hailing services in Kuala Kubu Bharu and Fraser's Hill. The town is an hour's drive from Fraser's hill. It is not hard to find taxi drivers in Kuala Kubu Bahru or Kuala Lumpur to get to Fraser's. You can ask for driver contacts from your accommodation hosts or contact me for the numbers of the taxi drivers I've used (email in About page). Mine was recommended to me by the accommodation. And yes, they speak english.

The taxi from Kuala Kubu Bahru to Fraser's Hill is around RM 100-130 (~23USD). The price might vary across taxi drivers and the type of car you are getting in. Some taxis can be very run down and might not be the most comfortable for an hour  of riding through squiggly roads.

I highly recommend avoiding going up the long windy road to Fraser's hill on Saturday mornings (or any school holiday or public holiday or during any big event at Fraser's) because a traffic jam along a narrow and extremely windy road is the last thing you want in a holiday.

Do ensure you have arrange a return trip back to KKB or KL with the driver prior.

(If you are driving to Fraser's hill, do note that there are often cyclists on the roads and do take caution while driving. I also do not recommend driving to Fraser's at night especially when you are unfamiliar with these roads. )

Getting around Fraser's hill without car

It is rather pleasant to walk on the roads and trails and there are hardly cars outside the town center. The cool weather also makes for a pleasant hike. I would recommend this for avid hikers who also loves wildlife spotting. Fraser's hill is an absolute bird paradise and we did see different monkey species close up every day.

^ The roads in Fraser's hill

Tips

• If you expect to be walking around after you check out, we recommend using large backpacks instead of wheeled luggage for easier mobility.
• Food options are mostly around the town centre and the food court area. I would recommend packing your own lunches if you would want to avoid having to walk to town just to get food mid-day.
• A generally fit person would not have a problem walking around Fraser's hill on foot. Most of Fraser hill road inclines are gentle enough for comfortable birding but there are some roads far outside town that have longer and steeper slopes(You might not need to use those roads.). Fraser's hill is small enough to walk on foot to various attractions entirely. There is no taxi and no Grab or other ride-hailing services in Fraser's hill. We have heard of a few birders who only travel around Fraser's on foot.
  
  We sighted a Caucasian man (most likely a resident), clad in fashion from the 19th century but wearing modern hiking boots, brisk-walking all over town. And the next day we saw him cycling on the roads.

• Generally Fraser's hill is quite safe and wildlife enthusiasts do go on night walks. There are a few guard dogs around too. People do come here to camp on weekends. Some nocturnal creatures roam about and wee sighted from the roads but as with all wildlife observations, it is highly dependent on luck. Best time is after 9pm. There have been very rare sightings of black panthers, sun bears, leopard cats and porcupine.

Walking around the roads in Fraser's hill is rather productive for birding. Birds can be found all over Fraser's hill along the roads. There are some birders who visit Fraser's without driving their own car. Sometime birders spend an entire day just inching the 3.5km Telecom Loop while staying at one of the accommodations along the loop. Not just birds, spiders, skinks and monkeys can even be found around the town center.

^ Monkeys we met along the way (Siamang and a White-thighed surili)

Some hiking trails are well-maintained and some should be avoided as they are infested with leeches. Generally, Hemmant trail, Mager trail, Abu Suradi, Kindersley and the Bishop trail were decent enough to safely tramp through. Some of these hiking trails can also be used as shortcuts to get to places. (Check Open street maps or allTrails for these routes). Hemmant trail is the most well-mantained and has been recommended for birds. Avoid Maxwell trail as it is a leech haven.

Birding and wildlife spots in Frasers hill

Telecom Loop (also known as jalan girdle) is well-known for productive bird-watching. It is about 3.5km long and there are some birders who spend weeks just circling Telecom loop every day. There is some gentle undulations on the loop, and this loop is an easy stroll.

On a weekday, there is almost no cars on the roads and no people, which likely explains the abundance of birds here. The roads are flanked by forests and so birds fly around to snack on the prosperous fruit trees. Birds are often distracted by food, so it is very easy to get unflattering shots of hungry birds from the road.

^ some food-distracted Sultan Tits snacking some very furry worms.

There are some nice bungalows and friendly human residents here. There arewaves of flying large and colorful insects at night.

The birds appear in "bird waves". Sometimes you have no birds in sight, and suddenly in the next moment, you are surrounded by chirps from different bird species who are probably foraging together. Bird activity seems to be the highest after 7am-11am and 4pm-7pm. I am not sure why birds are noisier in the morning. Perhaps it is too dark to forage, so they stay productive by using this time to sing for mates and marking territories.

The birds are pretty flighty. When a trogon spots you, it will quickly turn its back against you, hiding is bright red front and facing it's brown back towards you, occasionally turning around for curious peeps at the giant beast with a camera with a bazooka-like lens.

We happened to stumble upon a huge male red-headed trogon (a big bright red bird) right next to the road at Telecom loop in the early afternoon. He was startled and immediately flew to a nearby branch, facing his back to us.

^Another male red-headed trogon.

But fortunately this flightiness of birds is coupled with poor memory. If you stay at the spot long enough, they would forget you were there and return to continue snacking. We heard about one birder with snail-paced birding speed on the telecom loop. He moves his chair some distance evert 15 minute, and reads a book while sitting, only snapping shots of birds when a bird wave has arrived. There is a huge variety of birds in Fraser's so you might be able to see something new every day.

Jalan Mager is not bad too and we did pass by some bird waves with new species we haven't sighted.

At 7am around Jalan Lady Maxwell near the lamp posts, trogons are sometimes seen perched on telephone lines tied to lights that turn on overnight so that there are many insects that become Trogon snacks.

There are some known spots for some of the bigger floofs. The malayan partridges can be found Partridge feeding station. There is also Jalan Padang for brown wood owl who has been sighted by people staying at the camp in the area some years ago. For habitual visits of avian residents, I recommend getting a local guide to spot them. This also helps the local birding community.

Snakes and frogs can be found along the hike to Jeriau Waterfall. For this, I would recommend going with car or guide as the road from town centre is a a constant downslope, and walking is some effort. As of today, the waterfall is closed but there might be snakes and frogs outside the trail.

When to visit Fraser's hill and the seasons

If you are here for moths, moths can be seen all year round but the largest volume of moths, you should come here during the new moon phase and also during the wetter season (January-February). Avoiding windy days is helpful too but that is hard to predict. Fraser's hill is amazing for watching insects. The insects here are huge, alien and very colorful.

• Resident birds are here all here round but there are migration seasion, breeding season that might be favourable for sighting various species. Do some research if there are species you are looking for.

However, if you are just here for a holiday to escape the city and experience some nature in the cool weather, weekends are fine and would have more restaurants open.

Accommodations:

There are several accommodation options at Fraser's hill and each night is at least RM 100 onwards. Some places (esp on Airbnb) are cheaper on Monday-Thursday.

MCM Nature Discovery Villa is the indisputable place to stay for nature lovers. It is a little pricier than other options, but it is such a hidden gem and it tucked away in the densely forested telecom loop. The hosts are very knowledgeable about the local wildlife (he even has a spider native to Fraser's hill named after him, the Hoggi). The place has regular guests and you can meet other wildlife enthusiasts as guests here. In bad weather, there are tons of indoor activities guests can enjoy. There is a fantastic library, a table tennis table, pool and some board games. There is also some bouldering wall and mini-golf. The breakfast and dinner served here is delightful. The main host might look rather grumpy on the outside (perhaps we arrived earlier than check-in without prior notice, and we are regretful for that) but he is a reliable and generous host. There are some basic rules to be respected as the place is not a hotel and has limited staff (surprising because it's impressively well-maintained).  Every night, if weather permits, there is a moth trap set up for guests to enjoy and that was the highlight of the trip because it was uncommon.

I hope this place never closes down so that many other naturalists get to enjoy what Fraser's hill has got to offer.

It's possible to just have your taxi dropped you off at MCM nature villa and you can spend your day slowly stalking birds along the Telecom loop. MCM nature villa does provide a rich breakfast and dinner, and for lunch you can pack some sandwiches as there is no food options along Telecom Loop. (However you can still make a short trip on foot to town, the road descends rather gently from telecom loop towards the town center but the descent is mild and the walk is yet another fantastic opportunity to bird. We also saw Siamangs crossing the road here through the overhead branches.

MCM also has a sky cabin for 2 (no kids allowed because the stairs requires careful walking) which overlooks the canopy of the trees down below the hill.

The front porch and balcony is excellent for spotting birds who fly along the tree canopy. We did see a black eagle swooping around.

^ managed to spot an eagle and also a pair of grey-chinned minivets from our high-level rooms (the female, top left, is yellow and abit harder to spot. The male, right, is a vibrant red)

The view of the rolling tree-covered hills is excellent, which is refreshing after seeing the depressingly endless rows offorest land converted for palm oil production in Malaysia.

Shazah's Inn has recently finished renovations and the new rooms do look more like the place is a hotel. It's right at the town center and the prices are rather affordable.

Silverpart resort has some rooms that are run by residents. Depending on the days, it might be one of the cheaper options. They also tend to have a kitchen. You would need to walk up an inclined road to get to the etrance of the premises and also climb some stairs to get to the unit. The units have a balcony which offer a nice view and it is also possible to bird (insert minivets pic) from the balcony. There is Lavendar restaurant in Silverpart that opens on weekends and public hiolidatys and it is very cheap. (5RM for breakfast)

Food options

There is food at town centre or you can walk up an incline to the town's food court . In general, the western and chinese food are pricier (20-40RM) and the malay options are generally cheaper(RM10-20). There are several small provision shops that sell snacks and essentials (bread, fruits and vegetables) in these areas. There is only one Chinese restaurant, Hill View, in Fraser's.

Some restaurants are only open on weekends and public holidays.

Other Important Tips:

• Observing wildlife would be greatly helped by walking very quietly and also wearing muted colors like green, brown and grey.
• Do not try to trigger the spiders from their burrows in the day, they might come out and lose their way back to their burrows, then die from hunger. Also, do not ruin their webs.
• Scorpions are seasonal.
• While walking through the roads and the forested hiking trails, we didn't use insect repellant but we did wear thin rashguards to cover our arms and legs. We did not get insect bites.
• With a UV light, there are some things that can glow. Some examples are some mushrooms, wasps' nest, some parts of a spiders and wood nymphs.
• Report wildlife crime. Poaching etc. and do not buy wildlife products
• Siamangs often start having some tribal shouting match in the afternoon.
• Food places operating hours on google maps are often incorrect.
• Take nothing but photographs and leave nth but footprints. Help pick up litter if you see them. Unfortunately, littering is a common habit here.
• For nature enthusiasts, visit the bird interpretive center
• Highly recommend getting a local guide as wildlife spotting always require local knowledge on the local flora and fauna. A guide might also have a car to get to further places away from the central area of Fraser's hill.

Some other interesting links about Fraser's hill written by naturalist
https://mortenstrange.com/frasers-hill