Hiking Up Bukit To'kun at Cherok To'kun, Bukit Mertajam | Tokun Hill BM, Penang

The last of my hiking activities with my fellow hikers was back in early January at Bukit Tabur, Taman Melawati. Oh goodness, that was ages ago. Haha. Hence to wrap things up for the year end, I had another last hiking trip for the year somewhere up north which was at Bukit To'kun or  it is either known as well as Bukit Tokun or Tokun Hill located at Cherok To'kun, Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

Most of my fellow hikers resides in Penang and they have been posting loads of beautiful hiking pictures at Bukit To'kun with the Mengkuam Dam view that made me said to one them that I really need to go there and check that place out. Thankfully, I had a chance to drive down to Penang for a wedding and of course, I had to extend the stay for another day to check out Bukut To'kun.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Mengkuang Dam, Bukit Mertajam, Penang"][/caption]

If you are thinking for directions to Bukit To'kun, I truthfully cannot direct you from here because my friend was driving us all along and the next thing I new, I saw the Cherok To'kun signage, we passed the Mee Ketam Pak Man Restaurant around the corner, approached straight to Taman Rimba Bukit Mertajam, drive farther up a bit and the journey begins.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bukit Tokun clouds taken from the wooden platform"][/caption]

I was told that there are 2 routes to hike Bukit To'kun which is the off-road jungle tracks or the tarmac road which was the one that we used since all of us girls want to take it easy and slow and no wants to get wet and dirty in the jungle track.

What do I feel about Bukit To'kun?

I think people in Bukit Mertajam (BM) are really lucky. The place is jam-packed, loads of people are hiking, young and old - I'm talking grannies and grandpas with sport shoes and walking sticks hiking solo all the way up the really steep hill. It is a tough hike because of the gradient level/slope and these veterans are really rocking it out man. For younger and more adventurous ones, they are really a lot of cyclist - properly dressed of course, cycling up the steep hill and I saw one guy, he must have cycled a lot and I thought his calf muscles is going to break out of his skin at any time. That is exactly how intense it really is to climb up Bukit To'kun with your bicycle.

[caption id="attachment_2579" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Cyclist at Bukit Tokun, Cherok Tokun, BM"][/caption]

We pretty much took our time to hike and there were lots of stops and picture moments. Hence we round up the hill as in our return trip up and down took us about 2 hours 43 minutes. We only took 44 minutes to come down hill so you can guess how much time we spent for the photo taking sessions. I was really looking forward to see the view of the Mengkuam Dam at the wooden platform area, somewhere just a couple of meters away from the peak and that was basically the highlight of the whole Bukit To'kun hike. We had a pretty good day, cool and it rained the night before and we got to see beautiful clusters of clouds just beneath us, as though suspending right below from where we were standing and it was hands down the best view of the day. At some point, it didn't feel like we were in Bukit Mertajam but felt instead more like we were up on a really beautiful mountain view.

Most people who hike up the hill are usually regulars and it is really a very vibrant and exciting place to meet a lot of people. I really love that kind of exciting hiking vibes where everyone is so friendly and nice. We even met with a friendly bunch of guys and one guy fell victim to become our unofficial photographer. Friendly guy, very nice to chat with but no one bothers to at least get his Facebook name. Hahaha.

Anyway, if you are a Penangite and hiking is your thing, this is the place to go. With 2 routes to choose from, there are more fun to come back at Bukit To'kun often enough. For you hardcore bikers, this hill is the place to be! I'm thinking probably some path may be up to 45 degrees incline or slope which is really intense and will make you work it, man! For social hikers like me, this place is really worth to find and hike especially if you intend to travel down to Penang although this place is located at Bukit Mertajam not in the island. So yeah, Bukit To'kun or Bukit Tokun or Tokun Hill or Cherok To'kun hill (however you want to call this place) is really great, vibrant, happening and has an incredibly beautiful view right at the wooden platform. This is a must place to go hiking all the way in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

*pictures thanks to Miss M :)