Lonely Planet had recently rated visiting Bukit Gemok virgin forest reserve as the number 1 ‘things-to-do’ in Tawau.

“Bukit Gemok is located about 10km from Tawau town centre, it’s a fantastic park sitting on 445 hectares of protected land. Developed in the early 1990s, the jungle here has only recently become popular with trekkers, Hash runners and tour groups – many consider it to be far better than the trails around Poring Hot Springs,” as described by Lonely Planet.

You can easily find Bukit Gemok on Google maps and the borders are visible from the contrast of oil palm plantations surrounding the hill.

Sabah Government did the right thing by declaring it as forest reserves in 1984. Over the past few years it has received government funding to improve the facilities there and a canopy walk was also built to make it more attractive and to let visitors experience how it feels to be standing as tall as the gigantic trees.

Mr. Lee Chye Ewe, a former teacher in Tawau and a very active member of Tawau’s community, had written a nice blog post about his trip there a few years ago. “What makes Bukit Gemok interesting is the challenging track to the top of the hill. There is also a canopy walkway, Titian Silara, which is 231 meter long. It hangs from a few trees on the top of Bukit Gemok and provides visitors a good view of Tawau town. The canopy walkway was the second one to be built here after the first one collapsed. It is worthwhile to take some difficulties to climb up the hill before enjoying the fantastic view,” and what Mr. Lee said is right.

The view from the top is amazing as you can see from the photo taken by Discover Tawau Facebook group member Mr. Ronny James Spisol. Tawau town, Sebatik Island and the Celebes Sea are visible on a clear blue day like this.

Bukit Gemok is thought to be an inactive volcano, which erupted thousands of years ago. It’s one of the many dormant volcanic hills around Tawau area.

Bukit Gemok is about 428 metres tall, and that means The Petronas Twin Towers (452m) are only a fraction taller than Bukit Gemok.

Bukit Gemok is not your typical tourist attraction site. If you wish to enjoy the fantastic view from the top, you need to spend at least 1-1.5 hours to hike up to the top; but what’s the rush anyway right? You can walk at your own pace while enjoying the fresh air and the untouched rainforest. There are 7 rest stations as you walk along the trails and one of them is as shown below. Check the weather forecast before going if possible, but then again, the weather in tropical countries such as Malaysia can change abruptly.

On your way up, you will see varieties of insects, giant red ants and if you’re lucky enough, even playful monkeys. Once you reach the top, you’ll know that it’s worth the effort. The trek down Bukit Gemok should take a shorter time, but be warned that the trail becomes muddy and slippery on rainy days so you must take extra caution.

A taxi ride from Tawau town will cost around RM20.00-30.00 (one way). It is recommended that you make returns arrangement with your taxi driver. If you feel adventurous, you can take a local bus from the bus terminal in town. Ask for buses that go to Bombalai, Merotai or Table, then tell the driver or bus conductor to drop you off at Bukit Gemok. You will need to walk about 5-10 minutes from the main road. A one way bus ride shouldn’t cost you more than RM2.00 per person.

The park is opened daily from 8am to 5pm and there’s an admission fee of RM1.00.

If you like to learn more about Bukit Gemok feel free to ask any question below or on our Facebook page.  You can also contact the Tawau District Forestry Office at +6089-7618 333 / 761 835 / 761 863.

If you’ve been here before, do you agree that Lonely Planet rated Bukit Gemok as Tawau’s number one attraction? Tell us what you think.