Bukit Kiara @ Kiara Hill is IMHO the best place for MTB in the Klang Valley, if not the whole of Malaysia, with a good mix of technical and flowy natural trails. In other words, there are trails catering to all MTB disciplines/genres ie gravel, XC (cross country), trail/all-mountain/enduro and all the way to DH (downhill).

As the trails are hand-built (and not machine cut), it does change from time to time due to erosion from weather (our tropical torrential rain) and foot/bike traffic - obstructions/deadfall is not an unusual occurence. We are indebted to Patrick Brunsdon and many other trail fairies for the constant volunteer-led (foc and often at own cost) maintenance work, @jwrx being one of them!

Many don't know but Kiara was a rubber estate long before (hence the nearby longhouses housing descendants of the estate workers) and AFAIK >80% of the trails were built by the MTB community, some of whom are in the FoBK (Friends of Bukit Kiara) organisation. Nobody owns the trails so hikers are welcome to share but we sure wish everyone respects each other and have common sense as well as hyper spatial awareness

That said, first thing to do apart from getting a trail-ready bike (and as much protective gear as you are comfortable with and a helmet being mandatory) is to download the Trailforks app to have an idea of where to ride and find the trailhead - the green/blue/black ratings are fairly representative of the difficulty but it should only serve as a guide as all riders have a different comfort level.

For a totally new beginner, you should certainly try out the 'green' (easy/noob) trails first or portions of 'blue' (intermediate) trails. Not advisable to ride on 'black diamond' or 'double black diamond' trails and you certainly should not do the garden (road) gap drop from the platform or Shaolin-ramp jumps before you learn how and are ready - some people never want to do that and it is okay too, despite what social media depicts.


My recommendation is to start at the XC-style courses such as Playmate and Plan C which are nearer to the Hartamas/Kiaramas Ayuria end.

However, if you are coming from the TTDI park side of things and your (current) fitness prevents you from accessing Playmate/Plan C before getting out of breath (from the initial lungbusting climb), you can start with riding the 2K trail in reverse up till...trust me, you will know where you need to stop (and hike-a-bike back to the entrance) which ain't gonna be far off from where you begun.

After you have a taste of that, session (ie practise x 3000) at Boulder and Bar-A-Kuda - always remember to pre-ride/recce a new trail and skip sections you are not ready for yet. There's no point getting injured and hence being out of action from a gash, broken rib or collarbone - MTB has a steep learning curve unless you are naturally talented or rode BMX/trials in the past whereby you get to transfer some skills over.

After 6 weeks riding Boulder/Bar-A-Kuda/Playmate/Plan C (at least twice a week), you should be able to progress fitness-wise and can try to tackle the Twin Peaks climb. Don't be shy or embarassed to push your bike (MTB: Mari Tolak Basikal) and ride within your limits where the trail feels too sketchy eg after a heavy downpour.

Apart from brain protection, flat shoes are recommended unless you ride clipless pedals - skate shoes (such as Vans, especially the BMX-specific models) are adequate and decent enough, the difference being they aren't usually as stiff (and hence transfer less power) and it is common to have little or no toecap protection.

Good riders make cruising through rock gardens and wet slippery roots look smooth and easy, but they have had time to hone their (fine motor) skills - brake modulation, balance, and body positioning are key besides having a superb core/upper body strength. Have fun on the trails!