Moongate Trail

Greetings people!

I know, I have been MIA for the past 2 years...as my life has made a slight detour and given me the FOREVER in a lifetime opportunity to explore Malaysia. Flashback the past 2 years, all I could think of was the covid-19 pandemic. Needless to say, I was busy quarantining and social distancing - this includes keeping my fingers away writing.

One hiking trail in Penang (where I am currently stationed) worth writing about, is the moongate trail. This trail is an easy one and best suited for newbies and for those who does not have proper hiking shoes. Though it is not clearly marked not marked at all (compared to hiking trails in europe), the trail is pretty straight-forward as there is no forks along the trail. The highlight of trail and also my favorite part: please continue reading till the end ;)

This trail begins at a grand entrance - a majestic gate with an entrance shaped like a moon...full moon, as the name already suggest. This iconic gate is so famous that many hikers use this as a point of reference for gatherings / meet-ups if they are planning to hike around penang hill area.

An entrance hard to miss.

Once you've passed the majestic entrance, the trail is filled with stairs and flat trails. I personally reached the end of the trail in 40 minutes, while taking pictures along the way. Those that love to challenge, I have seen people running up and down the trails in running shoes and jogging pants.

A trail filled with lots of greenery. Remember to bring anti-mosquito spray!

Also along the way you will be encounter some monkeys aka the permanent residents of the penang botanical garden. According to locals, they can sometimes be fierce and show no remorse in stealing your food. I made the mistake of bringing a banana to the hike but was luckily spared.

The evening sun ray is just mesmerizing.

Rainbow staircase is a rare find.

 

Once you reached the pride-colored staircase, that's when you know the trail is slowly coming to an end. The highlight of this trail and also why I would recommend this to everyone: FREE coffee and biscuits *you know you won't die of hunger hiking this trail*

 

Mambo Nr. 5 ;)

Cups are provided (loan) - no need to bring your own.

 

Besides coffee and biscuits, there are also exercise equipments (don't know what they are called) for public use. Sorry I had no pictures of the equipments but they do look well maintained in my opinion.