Chin Farm to Forest Reserve

For most of my time in Batu Ferringhi I have been running the aquaduct path by Uplands school in Batu Ferringhi. It offers 6-7km of wide paved path and it connects to a number of hiking trails. Usually I run along the road through Batu Ferringhi to the parking lot across from the Bayview Hotel and from there a dirt track for about 2km to the end of the aqueduct. If you head this way follow the gravel road that heads into the jungle just across from the Bayview Hotel. There is a small parking lot at the start if you drive there. Once on the gravel path you will soon reach a fork. Head right, there is a small shrine at the junction. The path then starts to go up hill and you will see a red and white striped bar gate. Go through. Shortly you will reach a water tower and and then just after that a green fence. Keep on this dirt trail and shortly you will reach the dam and reservoir.
Just beyond the dirt track where the paved aqueduct trail begins there is a connecting trail that appeared to connect to another trail going to the Forest Reserve Entrance in Teluk Bahang. I never took it as I never had reason, but I got the chance this past week when my friend Emma needed to scout it out for a class hike. So we left the Bayview parking lot around 830am. I estimated that it would take about 1 hour to connect to the junction of trails on the first hill in Forest Reserve and that was about right. Most of the trek after the waterfall is steep and I was soaked in sweat within 10 minutes. There are two steep ascents broken by about 10 minutes of flat terrain on the way to the junction. Once there we took the path to the right which led us downhill towards the Forest Reserve, taking another 1.5hours. At one point there is a wooden platform with a great view. Once you reach this you are about 20 minutes from the end of the trail in the Forest Reserve. In the reserve there is room to camp and pools to swim in as well as some small restaurants and snack stands by the gate.

It was well enough marked and from the junction on the top hill you can make your way all the way to Penang Hill if we had taken a left instead of the right to head to the Forest Reserve. I reckon it would be fun to hike from Bayview to the top, but that would take all day and my days here in Penang are winding down. Hopefully I will get in a few more hikes, but probably not any that long.