Taiping, my adopted hometown, is dominated by Maxwell Hill. Now renamed Bukit Larut, it is the oldest hill resort in Peninsular Malaysia. Established in 1884, it contains several colonial bungalows, which make it an important cultural heritage site. My friend Suet Fun published a book in 2019, Beguiled on Larut Hills, in which she describes all aspects of Maxwel Hill in great detail.

This blog describes my personal experience with Maxell Hill.

My first visit to Maxwell Hill was in December 2003. I joined my friend Stephen on a trip to Taiping, his hometown, and we stayed one night in Speedy’s Rest House.

What a beautiful view of Taiping, far below in the plains. The caretaker of the bungalow was Guna. Lat-er that night, after the rain, the night view was spectacular too.

The next year, in April, I came back to Speedy’s with friends to celebrate my 60th birthday.

It was a very enjoyable celebration. Guna prepared a nice dinner. A detailed report about this trip, with many photos, can be found here.

Later that year, in December, I came back to Taiping with my friends Khong and George. Khong had aroused my interest in waterfalls, and we visited several of them. The Maxwell Hill waterfall is visible from Taiping, but we didn’t know how to reach it.

It was only several years later, in January 2007, that a friend of George showed us the trail to the waterfall. Quite impressive.

I visited Taiping often, as I became more and more interested in its cultural heritage, like the famous Lake Gardens. Even without visiting Maxwell Hill, it was always visible.

In July 2008, I visited a heritage site in the foothills near a mysterious bridge. An old abandoned swimming pool was constructed by the New Club in the first quarter of the last century. It was fed by water from the Maxwell Hill waterfall.

There is another waterfall on the slopes of Maxwell Hill. I visited it in January 2009 with George and Richard. I named it Kamunting Fall, although it is actually a waterfall in the Ranting River. The trailhead is the same as for the Maxwell Hill fall, but access is tougher.

A few months later, George and I used the jeep service to go up the hill. Not to stay overnight, just to walk around in the fresh air and have a look at the bungalows around the jeep station, colloquially called the 6th Mile.

You could call it a small village, with several bungalows and a cafeteria..

Speedy’s bungalow is a bit further uphill. We walked there and found that the bungalow was closed and Guna’s living quarters were vacant. Later, we were told that his lease had not been renewed. Sad.

We met Guna at the Sri Maha Kaaliamman Temple near the “village” where he was working now. Near the temple, they were building a huge complex, meant to become a hostel? Until present, it has never been used.

My next visit to Maxwell Hill was in May 2012. A birding trip with the
“extended” Gang of Four. We- had booked accommodation in the Beringin bungalow/.

A detailed report with pictures of birds and flowers can be found here. We walked up to Speedy’s bungalow and noticed that it had been transformed into a Biodiversity Center.

There were signboards in the garden, and we could enter the bungalow, but there was nobody.

We also walked to the Indian temple, where we met Guna, who guided us around.-

I have a fascination for ruined heritage, so I came back several times to the New Club Swimming Pool. My friend Khong shared a picture he took of the access path, taken in 199. I did the same in November 2013 and February 2016. The difference in water flow might be seasonal.-

Here are four photos of the main basin. In 2003 with George, 2016 with Paul, Fahmi and Rani, 2019 with Halim, and in 2025 with Yeap.

In January 2017 I revisited the Kamunting waterfall with Rani, Paul and Fahmi. On our way back, we also+ had a look at the Maxwell Hill fall.

Close to Speedy’s, there is another bungalow, called the Nest. Owned by the Methodist Church, I had never visited it. That changed when the Church leased the bungalow to my friend Suet Fun and Peter, her husband. They transformed the bungalow into a beautiful home for themselves, with accommodation for paying guests. In May 2017, I visited the Nest for the first time, with Aric and Hong, an Ipoh friend. We had booked a jeep that brought us to Speedy’s, from where it was a short walk to the Nest.

A hearty welcome by Suet Fun and Peter.

I was very impressed by the bungalow. I took many pictures, and Aric had brought his drone. I have written a separate blog, The Nest, Heaven on Earth, with pictures of all my visits to the Nest.-

In this report, more about what we did during our stay. First, we had a look at Speedy’s, which you pass, walking from the Nest to the main road. The Biodiversity Center, which we visited in 2012, was no longer in use, unlocked, a failed project.

Between Speedy’s and the Nest, there existed another bungalow, named the Hugh Low bungalow. Hong and I managed to find the remains of it. A real adventure, as there was no trail, I have never seen a picture how the bungalow originally looked like.

The next day, another adventure. A heritage friend of mine, Wan Amril, knows a lot about Maxwell Hill. He told me that there was a monument for J.W.W Birch, the first British resident of Perak, near the Telecom towers at the end of the road, and he was willing to guide us there. It was a nice walk, and near the end of the road, he showed us a vague trail that led in a few hundred meters to the monument.

The inscription says that T.W.W Birch was the first Englishman to climb the mountain (Gunung Hijau) in 1875. The T must be a mistake, because J.W.W Birch indeed climbed the mountain. I wrote a post about his “expedition”, click here.

After visiting the monument- (many leeches!), we walked to the end of the road, to the Cottage, the oldest bungalow on Maxwell Hill. Unfortunately not accessible as it is occupied by the Telecom people.

Wan Amril drove us back to Taiping after a stop at the Cafeteria, managed by him. There is a small waterfall beside the road, where the jeep service doesn’t stop.

It was a very rewarding trip. I wrote a detailed report about it, Maxwell Hill

When I visited Taiping later in 2017, I joined Wan Amril on a half-day trip to the 6th mile village, where he had work to do at his cafeteria. I had lunch there and walked around.

Some of the bungalows looked good; others were damaged by landslides. A mixture of beauty and decay, not uncommon in Taiping town as well.

More decay at Speedy’s, the Biodiversity Center was abandoned and desolate.

Although I knew that Suet Fun and Peter were not in the Nest, I had a look. Good that there was a locked gate.

I was fascinated by the atmosphere of the Nest and came back, on my own, April 2018, to relax after busy days in Taiping-

I walked up the road to visit the Birch monument and noticed that there was now a signboard. Actually, it is a bit more than 50 meters!

Speedy’s still the same.

Three months later, I visited the Nest again. Enjoying the hospitality and the food.

Speedy’s apparently had a new destination, a basic hostel?

In November, I came back with Aric. Paul and Fahmi joined us this time.

In the evening it can be a bit chilly.

A few bright lights outside the bungalow attract hordes of moths.

The Nest from the air, drone photo by Aric. Taiping down in the plains.

I was expecting to revisit the Nest more often. But that was not to be. In 2019, Suet Fun and Peter closed the Nest because she was working on her book. At the end of 2019, a major storm caused so much damage to the access road that it had to be closed for repairs. The road reopened in April last year.

Here is a Google Earth screenshot of the winding road with the locations mentioned in this post. The road ends at the Cottage, but the top of the mountain, climbed by Birch, is still a hiking trail.

Of course, I am very curious about the current situation of the bungalows on Maxwell Hill after six years of forced abandonment. Sad news is that the Church took back the Nest a few years ago, Suet Fun and Peter had to vacate their Heaven on Earth. It seems that the bungalow is now being “renovated. How will Speedy’s look like now? Three bungalows have been reopened. What about the other ones?

I was thinking about using the jeep service for a day trip when I am back in Taiping. Going up in the morning to the 6th mile, walk around, having lunch in the cafeteria, and back in the afternoon.

But I understand that at the moment the jeep service is only available for people who have booked accommodation in one of the bungalows, not for day trippers. Why?

To be honest. I have a suspicion that the authorities have a hidden agenda. To revive the idea of a cable car up the hill. Similar to Penang Hill.

I will wait and see.