Kanching Rainforest Waterfall

Kanching sits inside the Templer Park forest reserve on the old Rawang road, close enough to Kuala Lumpur that it fills with families every weekend, and the falls run in seven distinct tiers up the hillside with a concrete path and steps beside them. The lowest two tiers have the picnic tables, the food stalls, the barbecue pits and most of the crowd; from the third upwards the path narrows and steepens and the numbers drop away sharply, and by the sixth and seventh you are usually alone with a pool and forest. Macaques work the lower levels and are practised at taking food from hands and bags. The reserve is dipterocarp forest with the usual hornbills and squirrels. The water level swings hard with rain, and flash flooding has caused deaths here, which is why the site closes when the weather turns.

What you actually see

• Seven tiers of falls - a stepped path climbing the hillside beside them.
• A crowded bottom, empty top - the numbers drop away above the third tier.
• Bathing pools - shallow at the lower levels, deeper higher up.
• Bold macaques - working the picnic areas and taking food from bags.

When to go

All year; avoid periods of heavy rain. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The lower tiers are crowded and littered at weekends. Flash floods are a real danger - leave immediately if the water rises or colours. Macaques steal food and bags aggressively; keep everything closed.

Nearby

Batu Caves and Kuala Lumpur are south; Rawang is north.