Panorama Hill, Sungai Lembing

Sungai Lembing’s well-known Panorama Hill needs no introduction, but here’s one anyway…

The Panorama Hill (Bukit Panorama) is a beloved tourist spot, where a 45min climb up some well-maintained steps would reward you with a calming, peaceful view of a sea of clouds.

Assuming you reach the peak before sunrise, that is.

Start early – if you belong to the unfit (like me), 5.00am or 5.30am is a good time to start walking up those stairs. You’ll have plenty of time to rest in between, and you get to take your time navigating through broken steps near the top.

Panorama Hill, Sungai Lembing - broken stairs
These be the most treacherous steps, the rest are easy as pie

The Sg Lembing folks maintain this place very well, both for themselves and for the weekend tourists. Word of advice: I do not recommend coming here during weekends and public holidays. Sure it’s your only time off, but then you’ll have to reckon with a LOT of weekend tourists like yourself, jostling for limited spots at the top.

Panorama Hill, Sungai Lembing - top
Only a handful of people at Panorama Hill? Yes, we went during a normal week day

Panorama Hill, Sungai Lembing - hill view Whimsical morning fog enveloping the village

Panorama Hill, Sungai Lembing - haze
Unfortunately this was a mix of fog and haze. Damn you, haze!

As this trip was right in the middle of the 2015 haze season, this was the sunrise we saw:

Panorama Hill, Sungai Lembing - sun

But never mind, let me show you of what it could have been, a photo from my earlier trip:

Bukit Panorama, Sungai Lembing - 07 rising sun

There would be days when you don’t get to see a perfect sunrise, due to Mother Nature, clouds, etc. The easy hike is still enjoyable, with plenty of views like these:

Panorama Hill, Sungai Lembing - nature

Panorama Hill, Sungai Lembing - sea of cloud
Don’t you want to jump into the sea of clouds? No don’t.

Reminders: Bring your own drinks and snacks up. Bring your trash down with you. Avoid the insane crowd by visiting during a non-public holiday work day. Yes, it’s suitable for kids. No, it’s not suitable for older folks with knee problems; the steps can be steep. Bring a torch light if you’re going up to catch the sunrise. Be respectful of the hill, your surroundings, especially when you’re hiking up in early morning before day breaks.

Panorama Hill, Sungai Lembing - flag

And enjoy 🙂

comments

Comments

  1. When my friend brought me there from Kuantan, I think we drove out at 3am or was it earlier? The road from Kuantan can be treacherous in the dark, with the occasional sleeping lembu in the middle.

  2. That’s still a fineee pic.

  3. Awesome lar. Wife and I spent 2 nights at Sungai Lembing cause we couldn’t squeeze the rainbow falls and panorama hill in one day. Hahaha!

    Have you been to the Rainbow Waterfall?

Trackbacks

  1. […] Lembing was in 2015, at the tail end of the haze crisis. We didn’t know if we’d see the sunrise at Panorama Hill, and we weren’t sure if there’d be a rainbow waiting for us at the […]

Speak Your Mind

*

CommentLuv badge