The best waterfalls in Malaysia

I finally made it to Langkawi over a long holiday. I'm not young anymore and had never been, which I found a bit embarrassing. The news had been saying hotel occupancy on the island was down, so I assumed it would be quiet. It wasn't. Every attraction we went to was packed.

So I went looking for something smaller, and that's how I ended up at Temurun Waterfall in the northwest corner of the island. It's far from the main shopping area and the popular beaches, which I think is why it felt so much emptier. A few other people were there, but it never got crowded. The mood was relaxed, and I didn't feel like I was queuing for anything.

How long is the walk to Temurun Waterfall?

Today's forecast said rain from morning to afternoon, so I changed my plan and went to Pantai Kerachut instead, since it's a shorter route inside Penang National Park.

Paid and went in through the left side of the counter, RM10 for adults, RM5 for students. We both put on rain ponchos, different colours, and carefully avoided puddles on the wet mountain path the whole way. Didn't run into any animals along the way, in the end we only saw turtles.

At the fork we went left, straight the whole way, then at the next fork kept right and went straight. Arrived at Jambatan Pantai Kerachut around 10.55am, went straight to the end and turned left to see the turtles, then took the boat back to the start, RM120 for the boat.

Kanching is in Rawang, less than an hour from Kuala Lumpur, and I still find that a bit hard to believe. You walk in, and within a few minutes the city just stops. Trees, a stream, that's it.

We turned up at 10am the first time, which was dumb. No parking. We sat around waiting for a space like everyone else on a weekend. Entry was RM5 each and RM5 for the car, at least when I went, so have some cash on you.

There are seven levels of falls, one above the other, and you pick how far you're willing to go. The bottom three are so easy that people just set up a picnic next to the water and stay there. Level four is where the stairs start, and that's where I started puffing. By five and six you can finally see the waterfall properly, so out came the phone.