Location : Kampung Kiding, Padawan, Kuching Division, Sarawak, Malaysia.

I must have planned and discussed many times with Lebkan from Kpg Sapit to authentic, Borneo, culture, dayak, Ethnic, event, Gawa, indigenous, Kuching, Malaysia, native, outdoors, Padawan, Sarawak, traditional, tribal, tribe, village, waterfalltrek to Kiding but never got to do it until eventually in August 2011 Charlie Chan of Satya Sai Baba invited me to join his group of intern doctors, pharmacist & dentists to provide voluntary health services to the villagers of Kiding.  The invitation was most timely.  As I was treating Mr Bakas the Ketua Kampung for his thigh problem (which was smashed years ago by a falling durian in his farm!) he revealed there was a huge waterfall by the name of Garêg about 90 minutes away.

One month later I was back both for the followup treatment of Mr Bakas & his fellow villagers as well as a visit to Garêg Fall.  Perfect timing – it was the durian season.  The initial part of the trail was at its busiest I have ever seen as Kiding shares with Kpg Assom, Parang, Sapit and its nearest neighbour Kakas.  The whole Padawan was at the peak of its durian season.  Was caught in the rain yet again for the second time as we did the 1hr 45min uphill climb to the village with elevation 1450ft.  Once reaching Bakas house we had a quick shower before gorging on his durians.  Dinner followed soon after.  The night was preoccupied with treatment for Bakas, Nais, Suit and Romeo among some of them.

authentic, Borneo, culture, dayak, Ethnic, event, Gawa, indigenous, Kuching, Malaysia, native, outdoors, Padawan, Sarawak, traditional, tribal, tribe, village, waterfall
Trails to Kpg Kiding
authentic, Borneo, culture, dayak, Ethnic, event, Gawa, indigenous, Kuching, Malaysia, native, outdoors, Padawan, Sarawak, traditional, tribal, tribe, village, waterfall
Durian starter

The next morning we started the trek at about 10am with Bakas and his brother in law Nais.  The trail to the waterfall was littered with either rotting durian skins or freshly fallen durian flowers.  Amazing phenomenon where the same durian tree has ripening fruits and flowering simultaneously.  The journey was interrupted a couple of times with durian stops as generous villagers offered their overnight harvest.

authentic, Borneo, culture, dayak, Ethnic, plant, indigenous, Kuching, Malaysia, native, outdoors, Padawan, Sarawak, traditional, tribal, tribe, village, waterfall
Trails to Waterfall Garêg
authentic, Borneo, culture, dayak, Ethnic, plant, indigenous, Kuching, Malaysia, native, outdoors, Padawan, Sarawak, traditional, tribal, tribe, village, waterfall
Fallen durian flowers + rotting durian

Surprisingly the trail to Garêg Fall via Kiding was a lot easier than we had expected.  Garêg Fall is also accessible from Kpg Semban although we have never tried it.  In my opinion, Bengoh – Semban is a lot tougher than Bang Baku – Kiding.

authentic, Borneo, culture, dayak, Ethnic, event, Gawa, indigenous, Kuching, Malaysia, native, outdoors, Padawan, Sarawak, traditional, tribal, tribe, village
Waterfall Garêg
authentic, Borneo, culture, dayak, Ethnic, event, Gawa, indigenous, Kuching, Malaysia, native, outdoors, Padawan, Sarawak, traditional, tribal, tribe, village, waterfall
Side + top view of Garêg Fall

When Bengoh dam gets impounded in 2012 the landscape around Bojong-Rejoi-Semban will take on a completely new look.  The trail to these affected villages and Garêg Fall will never be the same again, for better or worse we will have to wait and see.  Kiding is outside the perimeter of the dam and I can foresee it will eventually outshine its more illustrious neigbours in terms of eco and adventure tourism.  Kiding also has 2 caves at Gunung Manǔng one of which is Gua Baran which has an interesting legend best heard first hand from the villagers.  The lookout point right in the village provides a perfect panoramic view of the Padawan mountain ranges and its flowing clouds both at sunrise and sunset.

authentic, Borneo, culture, dayak, Ethnic, event, Gawa, indigenous, Kuching, Malaysia, native, outdoors, Padawan, Sarawak, traditional, tribal, tribe, village, waterfall
Sunrise
authentic, Borneo, culture, dayak, Ethnic, event, Gawa, indigenous, Kuching, Malaysia, native, outdoors, Padawan, Sarawak, traditional, tribal, tribe, village, waterfall
Sunset

Kiding is blessed with so much in flora diversity that the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre is adopting it for a pioneer project on the ‘pakak’ plant.  R & D is still ongoing for pakak to be used as an ingredient for shampoo.  This leverage from SBC should be further extended to develop Kiding into an educational entity  whereby tourists could check in the homestay and attend a short course on plant identification, medicinal and culinary usages.  Perhaps these 2 links could give SBC a better idea:-

Kiding has all the potential of a ecotourism success story, just that it is raw & unpolished.

authentic, Borneo, culture, dayak, Ethnic, plant, indigenous, Kuching, Malaysia, native, outdoors, Padawan, Sarawak, traditional, tribal, tribe, village, waterfall
authentic, Borneo, culture, dayak, Ethnic, plant, indigenous, Kuching, Malaysia, native, outdoors, Padawan, Sarawak, traditional, tribal, tribe, village, waterfall
Bamboo bridge
authentic, Borneo, culture, dayak, Ethnic, event, Gawa, indigenous, Kuching, Malaysia, native, outdoors, Padawan, Sarawak, traditional, tribal, tribe, village, waterfall
Blacksmith
authentic, Borneo, culture, dayak, Ethnic, event, Gawa, indigenous, Kuching, Malaysia, native, outdoors, Padawan, Sarawak, traditional, tribal, tribe, village, waterfall
Kampung Kiding

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20 COMMENTS

  1. WE REALLY ENJOYED RELIVING YOUR TREK TO KAMPUNG KIDING AND HULU SUNGAI EMBAN….WONDERFUL PHOTOS AND GREAT INSPIRATION FOR US TO CONTINUE OUR “TREKS OF DISCOVERY” IN THE GREAT RAINFORESTS OF BORNEO…Jay Blakeney & Vicky and James Cikaliuk (3 Canadians in love with Bombastic Borneo)

  2. Nice piece of work. On behalf of the villagers, I would like to thank you for a job well done. Hopefully, this will put Kiding in the world map and help in one way or another in helping Kiding to realise its full ecotourism potential. I’m very sure,despite the long and arduous task ahead,the villagers will give their fullest cooperation to whoever is willing to help in the documentation process.No doubt, you have started the ball rolling.

  3. Beautiful waterfall. Never been to this place but will be interested to trek and check out this waterfall. Hoping you can give me the contact so that I can go with my group of trekkers. I’m also interested to trek to Jangkar waterfall again. Appreciate if you can provide me the guide contact. Thanks a lot.

  4. very interesting journey!..I wanna try for it just once in my life. Well, Kampung Kiding has potential in Eco-tourism and it be established there. I just love to see the waterfalls, it’s cold and amazing

  5. I like to go to Kpg Kidding and Gare Waterfall, pls let me know how to go there? and who can provide homestay? For your Info, we already went to Kpg Semban, Kpg Kadir, Kpg Jantan so next trip would be Kpg Kidding

    • Hi Lydia, tnx for the enquiry. BTW, Kiding is spelt with single ‘d’! Drive along Borneo Height Rd heading towards the direction of Borneo Highland Resort till you pass the signage ‘Kpg Bayur’. Just after that on your right you will see another signage listing more than 10 villages like Abang, Kambug, Kamas, Parang…… Turn into that side road and drive thru Kpg Abang till almost the end of the straight road you will see on your left a sign of the Kambug school. Turn left and continue for another 7 min or so till see 2 sundry shops, this area is known as Bang Baku. Since this is your first trip you should wait here for Mr Bakas the KK of Kiding so he may guide you. Pls call him at 0146932328 to make arrangement and quotes. FYI, he and all the village folks are busy harvesting padi till the end of March. My advise is not to do Gareg Fall on the same day of arrival. Best is arrive Kiding in the afternoon and do Gareg the next day. Happy adventure!

          • Hi admin, I tried to contact Mr Bakas for a few days, but could not reach him. is it wise to go there without contact anyone? me and my friends are really excited to go there, especially the Gareg waterfall.

            • Hi Nong, I suggest you keep trying as it is not proper to drop by w/o appointment. He might be busy with other visitors. If Mr Bakas cannot guide you he can always arrange for another guide. Do ask for the guiding fee first prior to your visit. Happy trekking.

  6. […] Agnes like many other villagers we met at Kiding that day claimed they have not been back to the village for ages. I wonder if the new road under construction has been a factor in drawing them back to their roots. As we were trekking up motorcycles zoomed up and and down ferrying people. Life will never be the same again…..thanks to DAP who came up with the money for its construction. The road is expected to be completed well before Christmas. Visiting Gareg & Tanju Waterfalls will be made so much easier. (For more info on Kiding village, please click here) […]

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