Sri Maha Mariamman Temple Hike
Mount Matang Near Kuching

tarmac road through the jungle

The Sri Maha Mariamman Temple Hike is an enjoyable 3km each way hill walk on a safe, traffic-free tarmac surface with an attractive Hindu temple at the top. Mount Matang is easily accessible from Kuching, just 30 minutes drive away.

peaceful rainforest environment

Information boards at various points along the way cover subjects such as flora and fauna , trees, water, fungi and insects. We also learn about Odoardo Beccari (1843-1920), the Italian botanist who carried out extensive research here and elsewhere in Sarawak from 1865 - 1868.

Flora and fauna found in this forest include bulbuls and tailor birds, reptiles like the skink lizard and the Bornean keeled green pit viper, and insects like millipedes, spiders, beetles, cicadas and termites.

The information boards also tell us about the giant trees of Matang including the increasingly rare Belian, a heavy, insect-resistant hardwood which is now a protected species. You might get to see pitcher plants and even their resident tiny frogs living in the water of the pitchers.

water tank and pipe collecting water from a small spring

Matang is an important source of clean , sustainable water for the surrounding area.

stone shrine decorated with HIndu statues

We passed two small Hindu shrines on the way up before reaching the main temple. This first one is called Sri Muniswarar Temple.

long abandoned coffee estate now covered with ferns and secondary jungle.The long-abandoned tea estate is now covered in ferns and secondary forest growth.

In the late 19th century efforts were made to grow various plantation crops on the slopes of Mount Matang, most notably tea and coffee. Indian and Ceylonese indentured labourers were brought in to work the estate but eventually the estate became unviable and it was abandoned in 1912. The Sri Maha Mariamman temple was built by the Hindu workers around 1897 but it too was abandoned and neglected until is was rediscovered by their descendants and reopened in 1970.

sri jada muniswaar templeThe second Hindu shrine known as Sri Jada Muniswarar Temple, 2.5km from the start.

At the second Hindu shrine there is a decision to be made. You can either continue the Beccari Discovery Trail by taking a jungle path to the site of Rajah Sir Charles Brooke's bungalow known as Vallombrosa (also the site of Beccari's earlier field house of the same name) or stick to the tarmac road which leads to the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple. We played safe and stayed on the tarmac road.

typical hindu templegateway flanked by a pair of female guardian statues.

After another 500m or so we arrived at the gateway to the temple. Here, if you want to see the temple close up, you have to remove your shoes and climb a flight of steps. Definitely worth the effort since you have come this far so it is a good idea to bring a towel or cloth to keep your feet comfortable when you put your shoes back on, especially if the ground is wet.

a flight of red and white steps leading up to the Hindu temple

A noticeboard advises visitors to the temple to dress and behave respectfully and not to bring non-veg food or alcohol to the premises and not to smoke.

Opening Hours

  • The hike is open daily from 7:30am to 3:30 pm.
  • The temple itself is open daily from 8am to 1pm.

Register & Entrance Fee

shelter where you register, pay for parking and buy refreshments

You need to sign your name and phone number into a register at the start of the hike and sign out when you return.

There is no fee for the hike, apart from parking (see below), nor is there any fee to enter the temple at the summit.

Water, soft drinks, fresh coconuts and snacks are on sale at the car park.

There are toilets at the car park and at the top of the hill next to the temple.

How To Get to Sri Maha Mariamman Temple Hike

The location of the car park at the start of the trail is marked on this map:

Parking

A car park is located at the start of the trail:

  • Car RM 5
  • Motorcycle RM 3

Nearby

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