We had a few days to spare after our three week long group trip with the danish travel company had ended (read more about my adventure to see Sumatran orangutans).

Since I had not managed to find an exhilarating amount of birds in Indonesia, I thought it clever to spend the remaining days in Malaysia to satisfy my tropical avian requirement.

Searching for the best birding near Kuala Lumpur

I looked into places in somewhat close proximity to Kuala Lumpur, allowing us an easy rebound travel back to Denmark.

According to eBird, I had narrowed it down to Fraser’s Hill – which was the ultimate best place to go birding ‘near’ Kuala Lumpur.

But since I was traveling with my partner, I did not want to drag him up for four hours of driving to this mountain range, no matter how attractive this place seemed. I did however find a really nice hotspot called Bukit Tinggi – which was another mountain range only one hour of driving from the city center of Kuala Lumpur. According to eBird there was a fairly high species richness in Bukit Tinggi, located in the Genting Highlands.

Bukit Tinggi and more precisely ‘The Japanese Garden’ was the place with the most species of birds that I could find. It happened to be a resort area, and since there was marked ‘birding track’ on a location on Google Maps, I thought it would be a safe place to do some exploring on my own, and where I didn’t need a car.

Eventually, we booked three nights at the ‘Chateau Wellness & Spa’ Hotel at Bukit Tinggi, for a (hopefully) relaxing end to a three week long group trip. We used a Grab (Asian Uber) to reach the resort. That was for sure a thrilling drive up there..

The Berjaya Hills Resort Complex (Bukit Tinggi)

The theme of the resort seemed to be ‘renaissance’ or at least ‘french village and baroque castles’ :-D. It was very odd to see this in Asia, and the little village seemed very popular to visitors. Curious!

The Chateau Spa & Wellness hotel

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The Chateau (hotel) was five stars (Asian standard), and I found that the quality of the room and facilities matched the price. We were extremely lucky to be among the few guests at the chateau, which meant that we had the pool area mostly all by ourselves. Although never alone, because we shared the space with curious monkeys (macaques), mosquitoes and swifts!

The roof of the hotel was excellent for nesting swifts, and the pool apparently provided an important source of water for the swifts and swallows! I noted three species: Plume-toed swiftlet, Rufous-bellied swallow (gorgeous bird!) and House swift.

Being among the few guests also allowed us to get the most beautiful view of the mountains. I could even do birdwatching from the room!

Birding potential

I was immediately thrilled to see the many birds from the window alone. I think we were disadvantaged because we didn’t have our own car with us. But from the hotel alone, I was able to do a few walks along the paved road, and found some really cool birds along there, including Gold-whiskered barbet, Pygmy falcon, Asian glossy starling, Maroon-breasted philentoma, Black-bellied malkoha, Spiderhunter species and more.

The nearby ‘Adventure park‘ offered paid guided nature walks, but only for larger groups (6 people or more). I think the resort is catering this experience more towards families with children, rather than avid birders.

Birding around the Japanese Garden and the Botanical Garden

It turned out that the area of the Japanese- and especially the Botanical Garden was really exceptional for birding! On the first morning of our visit, we heard and saw many different bird species. Some which I had already heard or seen around the hotel (along the road outside), but the remaining wild nature was really good for spotting wild birds.

Just as we started walking up from the parking lot, we heard and saw this Crested serpent-eagle soaring in the sky above us.

The Japanese Garden and Botanical Garden was not an exhilarating experience, but the Botanical Garden was so untamed and rough that it invited all the local birds in. A note: Be careful as you walk on the paved paths inside the Botanical Garden — they are covered in slippery moss!

We were so pleased to be among these tall, towering trees. It was truly a tranquil place before all the other tourists started to arrive.

Searching for some real trails

I tried to continue a bit ‘into the wild’, as I discovered a trail in the far back of the Botanical Garden. My courage was not too high, as I walked into the dense vegetation (my partner was patiently waiting behind). I also did not see anything for the first ten minutes, before I went back. Walking along the road was actually proving more valuable!

Unfortunately, I didn’t see the gems of the Genting Highlands – the Ferruginous Partridge and Mountain peacock-pheasant. If I ever visit this region again, I would definitely book a local bird guide!

The photography spot near the Japanese Garden

I had seen on Google Maps, that there was a designated place for some bird photography. It took us quite some time to find it, but you literally have to follow the map exactly as shown in the app. We didn’t see a single bird there, but we managed to see a small brown rodent with a long snout and a tiny tail – see the photo further down this post!

Maybe the timing was off? Maybe you will have better luck in this place. I suggest you bring a comfortable camping chair and a great deal of patience for this spot.

General availability

I was quickly surprised by how difficult it was to get around the premises without having a car!

There were checkpoints at every corner of the paved road, and whenever I asked to cross it, I was denied access. They didn’t even ask me where I was staying or proof my status as a guest in the resort. There were arranged busses (or shuttles) that departed between the French village and the Japanese Garden, but the first shuttle departed at 10 am. 10 am is not the best time to begin birdwatching if you’re short on time, and the place could potentially be overrun by other guests (and thereby scaring off any wildlife!).

But I managed to persuade an employee of the resort to drive me and my partner up to the Japanese garden at 7:30 am. Lucky us!

Before that, I even asked if I was allowed to walk all the way up there (that would take an hour). They would quickly turn my suggestion down by saying it was unsafe, due to the weather and probably snakes lurking around. I thought that was a legit reason.

Wildlife encountered around Bukit Tinggi

There was so much wildlife, other than birds, that we encountered during our trip to Bukit Tinggi.

One that I didn’t get an image of, was the Black giant squirrel! Never had I imagined that we would see this species. It was one of those O-M-G-moments!

We also saw different species of monkeys. We saw the endangered species of black gibbon – the Siamang, which can be twice as big as other gibbon species.

In total, we saw three different species of squirrel and one gymnure (native to Malaysia and Indonesia)!

Conclusion

Overall, we had a really good couple of days here at the resort. It was not too far from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and the Chateau was quiet and peaceful. The nature outside was stunning – and quite pristine! But as a wildlife enthusiast, it was unfortunately quite difficult to navigate around this beautiful peace of land. And that is a shame – because it was really teeming with birds and wildlife!

*None of the mentioned places or experiences in this post were sponsored.

© All photos are my own unless stated and may not be used without permission.