The best rides in KL, whether you want city views, secret jungle trails or challenging climbs
1. Fruit Valley
When cycling in the Klang Valley, you’ve got 2 main options: hilly, if you head to the north or east; or flat and fast, if you head to the west or south. The Fruit Valley ride is in the latter category, centring around the historic town of Batu Arang to the north-west of Kuala Lumpur. There are a few options to get to the main roads of this route. For a longer, tougher ride, start in Bukit Jelutong and head down the Guthrie Corridor or along the famous ‘Dragon Back’; for a shorter, easier spin park in Batu Arang itself and roll out to the fruit valley – a twisting section of road that winds back and forth over 20 kilometres from the east of Batu Arang up to Bestari Jaya.
From Bestari Jaya, either turn around and ride the same road in reverse or head down the eerily straight road to Ijok and climb the scenic Jalan Batu Arang back to your starting point.
2. Janda Baik loop
Start at Hospital Orang Asli in Gombak, head over the top of Genting Sempah and down to Janda Baik. Janda Baik is a hilly, forested area beloved of both cyclists and KL day-trippers, and offers challenging climbs and beautiful scenery. It’s a long climb up to the top of Genting Sempah, then a tough little kick to get into Janda Baik but then you’re rewarded with a quiet, scenic loop and a number of good coffee and nasi lemak stops.
3. Hulu Langat Loop
Start your ride in Hulu Langat’s Batu 18 but don’t head straight towards Genting Perez. Instead, ride back to Batu 18 before turning left at the mosque to take on Bukit Hantu. It’s a steeper climb than the surrounding hills but well worth ticking off, and it leads to a fantastic view of the Semenyih Dam after a fun, twisting descent. After a quick stop beside the reservoir, take the rolling road across to the base of Genting Perez.
Still got some energy? Definitely head up to the top of Genting Perez before making a u-turn at the top. If you’re running out of fuel though there’s an option to turn left at the bottom of the climb to roll back down the kampung road to the starting point at Batu 18.
4. Broga Loop
This one’s for the experienced (and fit) cyclists but is a must-do if you’ve got the endurance. Start at Hulu Langat’s Batu 14 and head up and over Bukit Hantu before turning right at the Semenyih Dam. A 20km spin will take you into Semenyih town where you turn left, past the University of Nottingham and towards Lenggeng. It’s an undulating road with some short, sharp efforts, but enjoy the smaller kampung roads before you take on the bigger Lenggeng climb.
Lenggeng isn’t the prettiest of hills but get over the top to enjoy a gentle roll down into the town of Kuala Klawang before making the turn towards the toughest part of this ride: the backside of Genting Perez. This 14km rise twists up towards the Negeri Sembilan-Selangor border at a gradient of around 7–8% but climbers are rewarded with an end to the 140km-ride that’s nearly all downhill from the top.
Wind down the other side of Genting Perez, turn right at the bottom and you’re on the home stretch into Batu 18 and back along the river to Batu 14.
5. Bukit Tunku City Ride
The outskirts of the Klang Valley boast some great countryside riding but for a quick blast, Bukit Tunku in residential KL is hard to beat. Leafy, hilly and largely free of traffic, you wouldn’t know that the centre of Kuala Lumpur is just a couple of kilometres away.
The routes are packed with cyclists on weekends these days but make sure you take in Changkat Tunku (more commonly referred to as Mayor’s Hill), The Wall of Jalan Tunku Putra and the triple climbs of Jalan Bukit Tunku, Dalaman Tunku and Laman Tunku which conveniently all loop back to The Stories of Taman Tunku for a post-ride coffee.
