Prepare to Discover the Hidden Remnants of Historical Bukit Seraya

An abandoned dam deep in the jungles of Bukit Seraya

A hidden dam in the middle of the Jungle

The weekend was spent exploring Bukit Seraya, a sister hill right beside the more popular Bukit Mertajam. Bukit Seraya is home many interesting flora, fauna and also hides an interesting piece of history. There’s an abandoned dam somewhere midway to the peak, which used to supply water to power the pre-WW2 steam train plying the route from here to Siam through Alor Setar.

As soon as you enter the trail, you will be greeted by palm oil trees on both sides

Beyond the palm oil, the trail continues on beside a durian orchard, with trees heavily laden with fruits.

Communications towers in the light of the rising sun

Leaving civilation behind, and going into the wilderness. Trail continues along a river

Left behind markers as usual are easily visible at this stage of the trail

Standing the test of time

The Seraya dam is said to be built by the Federated Malay States Railway (F.M.S.R.) in the mid 1920s. That’s almost 100 years ago! The track fragments seems to connect the dam to the quarry, and also down to the nearby Kampung Binjai. Anyone got a metal detector to loan? I’m sure there will be many buried treasures yet to be discovered.

The first structure you will encounter is a dilapidated building. Only the walls remained of this abandoned office structure

“Blakeborough” was clearly stamped on this equipment found in the structure. Googling shows that “blakeborough” is synonmous with manufacture of steam valves (among others). Likely left behind because it was too heavy to lug away.

At the bottom of the Seraya dam. A testament to the builders of that time, that it is still standing 100 years since it was completed. Somethings are built to last.

a broken off railway track at the base of the dam

water from the top of the dam exits through this gate at the base

The top of the dam is accessible via paths to both side of it. I followed the signs pointing towards the left

Structure at the top of the dam. Houses a huge pipe that drains the water out from the lake down. Doesn’t look like it will last another 100 years

Water gushing down the large pipe underneath the structure

the dam was nearly full with waters. no sign of recent maintenance. Looks like a potential disaster waiting to happen

Top of the dam looking down, notice the markers on the ground pointing to the path up

someone made a makeshift bridge across the gap using railway track remnants. Cross it to continue on

Discovering the hidden secrets

I have been here a few times before, the last was probably 2 years ago. This time around, I decided to cover a few more unexplored landmarks around the area. Besides the dam, there’s also a waterfall named Tok Janggut. From what I read up the waterfall area is where a (stone? iron?) quarry used to be. Around the slopes of the hill, you can still spot railway tracks fragments, abandoned structures, etc scattered around as you explore the area. It is said that many more were carted/pilfered by foragers in the 80s.

Bonus: Fish out your phone and get ready. If you are lucky you might spot an eagle in the area. I missed my chance as it flew away the minute I entered into the area.

another discarded segment of the railway track plying the route from the quarry to the dam

just some roots holding on to a fallen tree trunk. tempted to go on it and rock away. Spotted near the waterfalls

strands of roots dangling down the cliff edge, giving the waterfall its name of Tok Janggut. The area used to be either a stone or an iron ore quarry

beside it, there’s another fall cascading down the rocky surface

Onwards to the Peak

Beyond the falls, there’s a steep climb up to peak of Seraya hill. Along the way you will encounter many picturesque trees. The only drawback is that many more vaguely named trails starts to appear, some newer with clear markings, while some are older where markings are less visible.

Bonsai Tree can be seen as soon as you complete the steep climb up to the top of the falls. The girls climbed up the branches the last time we were here in 2020

A tree with roots looking like that of an octopus tentacle at the peak

The Magnificent White Tualang Tree

I chose to continue a steep descent down to the valleys of Sungai Lembu, just to catch a glimpse of a fabled majestic white tree. The trail is less frequented, and hence markers are less obvious, with bushes a little more overgrown. The sight of the tree was truly worth the effort. After a quick snack break, its time to retrace my steps back to the peak, and the return journey to the trail head.

The nearly white tualang tree dwarfing all the trees in the vicinity. Unfortunate for the graffiti of its base.

an octagon shaped rest stop in one of the many durian orchard heading down from the peak

view of the neighboring township from the rest-stop

Wait, there’s more

On the return journey, there’s still detours that you can take. As mentioned earlier, there are many trails zig-zagging across the area. Get hold of a trail map, or engage a local hiker to bring you to a few more spots in the vicinity. I would recommend you take the extra hour or so detour to check off these areas, or feel free to keep it for a return visit.