KL Forest Eco Park @ Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve

Date of visit: 21st October 2018

First and foremost the KL Forest Eco Park opening hours is from 07:00 – 18:00 daily. This place is located at Bukit Nanas, Jalan Puncak, Off Jalan P. Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur with a KL Tower as its landmark. There are various ways to enter the Park, either from the KL Tower or the entrance gates at Jalan Raja Chulan or Jalan Ampang. The Raja Chulan entrance is the main entrance which also houses a Forest Information Centre with a small gallery inside. As we couldn’t find a parking at either Jalan Raja Chulan or Jalan Ampang entrance gate, we drove and park at KL Tower compound parking area. Lucky there was 1 spot left for our car. Please take note that there's a prayer hall, toilet facilities and eating places within KL Tower, ground floor that the public may get to use.

We came to know about the KL Forest Eco-Park when Nastja came to visit us in 2016. It was saddened that she couldn’t visit the park due to her short schedule but we did bring her up to have a closer look at the KL Tower for some night view on her last night in the city. It is rather a small compact park, which is useful for tourists who wish to get a taste of what a rainforest looks like, without having to go out of Kuala Lumpur. But being in the heart of the city centre, you will hear traffic noise and sky scrapper buildings all around, which may take away a bit of the experience, but it make an enjoyable visit in that combination with the KL Tower. Climbing up entails going up a spiral staircase to the wood and steel aerial bridge that is quite a pleasant experiences. Please note that there is no disabled access as it involves a lot of walk across the steep hills. At the top, you will get a view of the forest canopy as well as the towering buildings of Kuala Lumpur in the background.

The KL Forest Eco Park, formerly known as the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve, is one of the oldest permanent forest reserves in Malaysia, located beside the Menara KL Tower. The forest reserve covers an area of approximately 11,000 square metres and was founded in 1906, making it the only remaining tropical rainforest in the middle of Kuala Lumpur city centre. Visitors can find a variety of trees, herbs, bamboo, and creepers, as well as well-maintained walking trails ranging between 300 and 500 metres in length. All trails in KL Forest Eco Park are fairly suitable for beginners and children, plus there are also several facilities within the area, including a playground, campsite and a wooden gazebo overlooking the Menara KL Tower. A must-visit here is the Canopy Walk, which is a wood-and-steel aerial bridge that’s about 200 metres in height. The bridge towers above the forest reserve, offering sweeping views of Menara KL Tower, and the KL city skyline. The KL Forest Eco Park is open daily and free to enter. It's popular to visit the park in combination with a trip up the Menara KL Tower. A free guided walk is included if you have bought tickets to the tower’s observation deck. You may click the KL Tower Website for the ticket reservation and other choices that you may like it.

History wise, Bukit Nanas, which means "Pineapple Hill", is the last remaining virgin tropical jungle located in the centre of Kuala Lumpur city. Originally known as Bukit Gombak, its story is very much tied to the history of Kuala Lumpur itself. Kuala Lumpur began when Raja Abdullah, a member of the Selangor Royal Family and Chieftain of Klang, hired a Chinese prospectors to venture upstream from Klang to open new tin mines in the Ampang area. Eventually mining were successfully set up in Ampang but the tin ore had to be transported downstream where supplies and provisions brought upstream by the boat.

In 1857, a settlement was founded at the confluence where the Gombak and Klang rivers met. It was chosen at the nearest convenient point where boats could disembark to service the upstream tin mines of Ampang area. This muddy confluence of course became the settlement of Kuala Lumpur, which is now the capital city of Malaysia. To strengthen his control over Kuala Lumpur, Raja Abdullah sent his lieutenant Syahbandar Yaseh to establish a garrison in the area. Syahbandar Yaseh selected Bukit Gombak as a base to build his enclosure.

Sometime later, an incident occurred whereby a villager of the Sumatran Batu Bara ethnic community was killed by someone in Yaseh's Bukit Gombak's garrison. Raja Abdullah refused to punish his ethnic Bugis men of the garrison for the crime, which angered the Batu Bara community.Enraged by the incident, the Batu Bara headman Mohamad Akib gave his backing to Raja Mahadi, a rival of Raja Abdullah, to support Raja Mahadi should he wished to attack Raja Abdullah. There, the seeds of the Selangor Civil War, were sowed at Bukit Gombak. Raja Mahadi attacked Raja Abdullah in his stronghold in Klang. Mohamad Akib was killed in the battle, and Raja Abdullah evacuated and retreated to Melaka, where he later died. In 1867, Raja Mahadi took control of Klang. Raja Abdullah's son Raja Ismail attempted to take back Klang but was unsuccessful.

In 1868, the Sultan appointed his son-in-law, the Kedahan Prince Tunku Kudin to attempt to mediate between the Raja Ismail and Raja Mahadi factions. However, Raja Mahadi flatly refused Tunku Kudin's mediation attempts. Offended by Raja Mahadi's rebuff, Tunku Kudin chose to side with Raja Ismail. In 1870, Raja Ismail with the help of Tunku Kudin, attacked and besieged Klang and this time he was successful. Raja Mahadi then fled to the stronghold in Kuala Selangor. This lasted only until 1871, whereby the British used the excuse of pirate attacks in the Straits of Melaka by Raja Mahadi to attack and capture Kuala Selangor from Raja Mahadi who then fled. The British handed over control of Kuala Selangor to Tunku Kudin.

In 1872, the exiled Raja Mahadi gained support from Mandailing chieftains Raja Asal and Sutan Puasa, and launched a new attack on Bukit Nanas, now under the control of Tunku Kudin. Bukit Gombak had been renamed Bukit Nanas as apparently pineapples had been planted around the stockade as a form of deterrence to potential attack. Raja Asal attacked the garrison and Tunku Kudin's forces at Bukit Nanas were decimated and Kuala Lumpur razed to the ground, and its Kapitan Cina Yap Ah Loy fled to Klang. The Selangor Civil War would continue on until 1874, with Tunku Kudin eventually becoming victorious with the help of Yap Ah Loy's men and an army from Pahang as well as the backing of the British. Raja Mahadi was defeated and fled to Johore, where he died in Singapore in 1882. The Selangor Civil War and other conflicts like in Larut, were the catalyst for the British to interfere and engage in local affairs; and set into motion the beginning of British Administration in the Malay states. In 1875, the Selangor Sultan accepted James Guthrie Davidson as the first British Resident of Selangor.

As for Bukit Nanas, in 1909 the British administration gazetted 17.5 hectares of land as a forest reserve and named it after Sir Frederick Weld, who had been the Governor of the Straits Settlements. Known then as the Bukit Weld Forest Reserve, it is the oldest forest reserve in the country. After Malaya's independence from the British and the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, the name of Bukit Weld reverted to its previous name of Bukit Nanas. Development has chipped at the edges of the Forest Reserve and today only 9.3 hectares remain. Should you wishes to know more about the history of Kuala Lumpur, please feel free to read of what Wikipedia Website has written about it.

In 1996, the Kuala Lumpur Tower was built on top of the hill to serve the telecommunication needs of the city, as well as a tourist attraction. At 421 metres in height, it is one of the tallest freestanding telecommunications tower in the world. The Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve has since been renovated and renamed as the KL Forest Eco Park. One of its new attractions when it was re-opened in November 2015 was the Canopy Walkway and trails through the forest which was made conveniently for the visitors to walk through the forest.

It is only meaningful to end the entry by sharing the purpose of our visit that day. Nasrul had a new ambition now. He is so determine to become a Film Director and had focus deep into the field of what need to be done in becoming one. So he made a short story clip of that visit with a title "A Day With Nature". Please do enjoy his movie in above link.

Peace!