Dabong
The base for eco adventure in Kelantan’s interior. Gunung Stong, a 303-metre waterfall and limestone caves, all reached from a small town on the Galas River.
Dabong is a small town on the banks of the Galas River in Kuala Krai, Kelantan, hemmed in by hills and forest. It is a key stop on the Jungle Railway, and the train is still the best way to get here. The town is quiet and you can walk across it in half an hour, which is part of why exploring it feels like stepping back in time with even a manual petrol pump.
The railway is what made the place. In the 1920s the British pushed the line through from Kuala Krai to Gua Musang, and a station at Dabong turned a stretch of forest into a settlement. The town has grown around it ever since, and today it is the second administrative centre of Kuala Krai.
What brings people now is what sits behind the town. Gunung Stong rises 1,422 metres, and Jelawang Waterfall drops 303 metres off it, among the highest falls in Southeast Asia. Below, the limestone is riddled with caves. Gua Ikan is the best known, named for a rock that looks like a fish leaping out of the stone, and Gua Gelap, Gua Keris, Gua Pagar and Gua Batu Susun sit around it. There is Lata Kertas for a swim, and Sungai Kenerong for tubing and kayaking.
On Saturday evenings a night market fills the street near Jalan Pejabat, and it is the easiest way to meet anyone here. It is also the best way to taste what the locals eat.
Two stories explain the name, and neither has been written down properly. One says it comes from a kind of stone once used for filing teeth, which is what mendabong describes. The other says Puteri Da lived on this bank of the Galas. Both come from Dabong people rather than from any record.
2 nights at least
- Day 1Come in on the train and walk the town. It takes half an hour. Gua Ikan and the caves around it. Pasar Malam (Saturday)
- Day 2Climb to Jelawang Waterfall and camp near the falls.
- Day 3Breakfast and go home.
Gunung Stong is a guided climb rather than a walk, and the camp near Jelawang is basic, so arrange a guide and check what you need to carry before you come. The pasar malam runs on Saturday evenings only, which is worth building the trip around, because it is the one time the town fills up. The east coast monsoon runs roughly November to February and the trails are poor through it.
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Dabong, Kelantan
Open in Google MapsGetting there
Come by train. Dabong is a stop on the Jungle Railway, the KTM East Coast Line. The ride is half the reason to come. First take the train from KL to Gemas, then Gemas to Dabong. The ride is half the reason to come.
Check the KTM timetable before you plan around it, because services on this line are sparse.
If you drive instead, it takes about 5-6hr, but make it a road trip and stop at either Kuala Lipis or Gua Musang.
Documented on the ground. We were here with a camera. Prices and hours change — tell us if something is out of date.
Not visited on that trip, and taken from research instead: Gunung Stong, Jelawang Waterfall.