Mirror image at the lake. — Photos: YOON LAI WAN
Travel illuminates one’s life and taking the road less journeyed while we are still able to do so is certainly a joy to the soul. Once again, this “aunty” became an unofficial travel guide when a group of my former school mates from Methodist Girls’ School in Ipoh, Perak came back for a festive occasion.
Nature-themed activities were my agenda. “Be prepared to get soiled or do not follow me,” was what I told these lovely ladies. Armed with enthusiasm, we drove 30 minutes down south from Ipoh to Simpang Pulai where Lanno Valley is located. Diverting into a small earthen path from the road leading to Cameron Highlands, we soon reached this hidden gem, which was only opened to the public in January 2023.
A humongous terracotta coloured metal gate stood at the entrance of Lanno Valley. As Kelvin Teh, our guide at Lanno Valley, rolled open the enormous gate, and a whole new world of ancient, rugged beauty materialised in front of us. We felt like were were travelling back in time.
The air was fresh and invigorating, a paradigm shift from city air. Arresting reflections of rolling green hills were mirrored on ponds. I opened my arms as if to embrace the gentle breeze, while the morning sunshine caressed us.
There are a few caves to explore at Lanno Valley. — Photos: YOON LAI WAN
Parts of Lanno Valley are surrounded by the majestic limestone hills of Gunung Lanno. Lanno Valley is the ideal place for a leisure stroll that caters to all kinds of traveller. You can find mysterious caves (guides are required for this activity), lush vegetation, fish ponds, an archery range and many photo spots here.
Children can even enjoy feeding the fish and ducks at the pond. Occasional avian friends like the bee-eaters and radiant kingfish hoovering around the ponds and fruit farms were a delightful sighting. A bicycle track and dining area is in the making too.
There are a few adventure programmes to choose from. We opted for the “soft adventure” and chose the cave walking tour package which comes with a guide, safety helmets and torch. Those fit enough for a bigger adventure can opt for the “level two” tour.
Certain areas of the dark caves on the ground level were enhanced by artificial lighting. While roaming around in the safe zones, we managed to see a few faded doodles resembling rock art from a different era. Kelvin was nice enough to show us a hidden rock shelter that’s located on a higher level, which was not included in the package.
The writer (second from left in white) and her friends at Lanno Valley.To access the rock shelter, which is at the far end of the valley, we had to walk past a few blocks of kelutut (stingless bee) nests found in hollow tree stumps. Adjacent to that was a hidden cave where, with well-timed opportune, one can witness the sun’s rays beaming down momentary in a bluish tinge.
Finally, we reached the base of the rock shelter where Kelvin set up a sturdy steel ladder for us to heave ourselves up onto a long narrow ledge. Amid modern-day graffiti were several charcoal drawings of another period depicted on the wall of this shelter. A sweeping panoramic view of the Lanno Valley landscape can be seen from here too.
We went back to the entrance of Lanno Valley for our final mission. With climbed the iron stairway leading to the caves high above (around 15m), found on the Gunung Lanno cliffside. There were two astonishing caves there. Armed with our torches, we walked into the left chamber, which looked more impressive.
With utmost caution, we crawled through a short narrow passage where delicate soda straws (thin tubular speleothems) were seen hanging right above our heads. Beyond this was a bigger chamber, a cave enthusiast’s delight, for sure. As Lanno Valley was once under water thousands of years ago, the presence of gigantic scallops carved into the walls of this chamber by flowing water attest to it.
The cave walls.
Natural spectacles of geology are conspicuous in the entire area. Imposing flowstones, columns, gour pools, stalactites and stalagmites made this chamber look like a fairyland. A small reddish-orange drawing which resembled the ones found in Gua Tambun was seen painted on a flat surface of the cave wall. Whipping out our cellphones and cameras, we happily took as many pictures as we could, ending our fantastic adventure for the day.
Views expressed are entirely the reader’s own.
