Kota Tinggi Waterfalls

The falls at Lombong drop about thirty-six metres off the flank of Gunung Muntahak in a series of steps and have been a resort site for decades, with chalets, a car park, changing rooms and food stalls built around the lower pools - so this is a developed day-out rather than a walk into forest. Concrete steps and railings run up alongside the water past a sequence of pools of different depths, the lower ones shallow and full of children at weekends, the higher ones deeper and quieter. Proximity to Johor Bahru and the causeway means a heavy Singaporean weekend crowd; on a weekday it thins right out. The upper reaches of the river run into forest reserve. Rain in the catchment above raises the level quickly, and the site has been closed and damaged by flooding more than once.

What you actually see

• A thirty-six metre cascade - stepping down the flank of Gunung Muntahak.
• A stepped pool sequence - shallow at the bottom, deeper and quieter above.
• A built-up resort site - chalets, stalls, steps and railings around the falls.
• Weekend crowds - heavy day-trip traffic from Johor Bahru and Singapore.

When to go

All year; weekdays for space. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It is developed and can feel like a water park rather than a forest. Weekends are very crowded. The river rises fast after rain upstream and the site has flooded and closed before.

Nearby

Kota Tinggi town is close; Desaru and the east coast are further out.