Bukit Batu Putih / Whitestone Hill

Bukit Batu Putih/ Whitestone  Hill

Tanjung Tuan Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan

This one is pretty new to me. Some time ago, this hike went pretty viral and that’s how I got to know Batu Putih in Port Dickson. There are several other Batu Putihs around the country, but this is the one that came highly recommended.

From what people have told me, the sunset view from the peak is beautiful, and it’s a super easy climb for those with no experience. PERFECT!

We wanted to look for something easy and relaxing, so the three of us (me, Sophie and Aili) made the drive down to Tanjung Tuan one Saturday afternoon. We took our time getting there, stopping for lunch and snacks along the way.

Look for the Tanjung Tuan Recreation Park. The entrance is right next to the Ilham Resort. It’s huge, so you can’t miss it. There is a guard post where visitors register, and a RM1 fee. From the guard post, we walked up a paved road until the starting point, which is close to the Tanjung Tuan lighthouse.

Interesting historical fact: Tanjung Tuan was named “Cape Rachado”, meaning “broken cape”, by the Portuguese way back in the 1500s. After the Portuguese conquered Melaka in 1511, they planned to build lighthouses to guide their ships, and this one was built sometime in the 1520s.

It was also a central structure during the Battle of Cape Rachado in 1606, between the Dutch VOC and Portuguese naval fleets. This battle was the opening scene for the series of battles between the Dutch-Johor coalition and Portuguese-Melaka which ended with the surrender of Melaka to the Dutch.

There have also been some ghostly sightings at the lighthouse, with some folks saying they have seen figures dressed in old-timey clothing. Well then.

In 1921, the Tanjung Tuan area was gazetted as a permanent forest reserve, which is why we get to hike it today. It’s also a designated Important Bird Area, so you might see a few beautiful bird species. Good thing it isn’t a designated Important Ghost Area.

It’s a simple and straightforward hike for most of the way, with clear paths, except for a little tricky part close to the peak, where you must scale some rocks. It’s not even as hard as it sounds, trust me. We had a super chill time, just soaking in the beauty and listening to the birds.

  

Overall, the hike took only 30 mins to the peak. We relaxed and chatted for a while, waiting for the sunset. And what a sunset it was! It seemed to me like it was nature’s encore before exiting the stage. Absolutely stunning. It seemed almost unfair, as we didn’t have to do much to deserve this sight.

We stayed at the peak for about an hour, before making our way down. Hiking is hungry work and we were more than ready for a big dinner!