Foldies Elephant Rock Johor Archives

Cycling to Elephant Rock in Senai Johor. This was what 14 of us did early September 2022.

We have seen the various trips undertaken by other cycling kakis, and the mesmorising green palm oil plantations from the top!

Elephant Rock, also known as Elephant Hill Rock is located at Senai, Johor. The official name is (Bukit Batu Gajah 柔佛州泗隆象石山).

Actually, this rock is more popular with hikers than cyclists.

Elephant Rock is about 40km from customs, and take note of the almost 1000m elevation (aka slopes) from my Strava screenshot. This tour is challenging for new riders, build up your fitness with slope trainings first.

Refer Google Map screenshot below, follow my GPX for links and tips to reach trailhead (gpx link). (Viewing experience is better on Desktop rather than mobile phones).

Tip 01 Refer to our Cycling to Elephant Rock YouTube clip below.

In summary we headed towards Elephant Rock, then Eco Spring for lunch before heading back (passing Mount Austin).

0600 set off from Esso Woodlands Road.
Took our customary photos at Causeway.

0730 Breakfast at Kedai Xuu Yau . Shop is very low profile, my favourite wanton noodle.

Tip 02 Route J3 slopes!

Good workout for us, up down roller coaster slopes for up to 8km. The toughest parts are after Larkin Bus Terminal, sapping our energy.

For chaps who wish to explore beyond Johor, Larkin Bus terminal is where you hitch a ride to Malacca, Selangor, Mersing, Terengganu etc!

In comparison, J3 slopes are easily x2 x3 times tougher than Mandai slopes.

Actually the slopes begin once you touch J3 along Taman Merdeka (park). Checkout 30s from my YouTube clip . Good training 🙂

The slopes get easier when you are nearer to Starhill Golf and Country Club (or maybe we are numb already).

Do look out for two HUGE Boeings at the parking lot! (GPS estimate 1.558578, 103.713771). This is in Kempas neighbourhood.

Retired Boeings! Just curious who parked the planes there, and for what purpose?

Tip 03 Pitstop before Elephant Rock.

From the aeroplanes corner, we would recommend having a pit stop at Kampong Maju Jaya (GPS around 1.581363 103.718755). There are 3 to 4 coffeeshops here and a few convenience stores.

Take note road condition along Kampong is more bumpy and has more pot holes.

Refill your water, clear your bladder. You are less than 10 km from Elephant Rock. We noticed there are some roadside stalls selling drinks and snacks but we gave it a miss (would be cool to grab some coconuts).

Oh, we found out Kampong “squatting” toilets are clean 🙂

Tip 04 Trailheads and access

There are actually two trailheads to submit Bukit Batu Gajah.

(Refer photo below) Point 2 (GPS 1.639369, 103.734652) is nearer, you can park your car and walk less than 2km to submit. Point 3 is further (Petrol Felda Ulu Tebrau), follow directional signs and hike 6 to 7km one way .

For point (2), those who are driving should park around the neighbourhood here (GPS 1.639206, 103.729393). We cycled to Point (2).

From photo above, go up the left trail and you will encounter a “FUN” slope. It is important to enjoy the journey and pitstops, as this will make the trip more memorable.

*After the slope, do look out for a side gate (GPS 1.639422, 103.732887), and trek offroad 400,500m to the rock.

If you overshot the gate, you will see “old hut” up the slope.

Once you pass the gate, start pushing and walking on trail. I suspect the trail will be muddy if it rains. If you have wider tyres or MTB, cycle in all the way!

Tip 05 Cleats are not welcomed here

You can try to climb the rock face with your Clipless

We can see the ROCK infront of us, turn left at the T junction infront.

I still cannot tell which part of Rock resembles Elephant. After this portion, the last 100m offers a good workout with your bike! PUSH!

Park your bikes, go and explore the batu (rocks!).

The ROCKS are HUGE!

Take more photos! We spent almost 1 hour at Elephant Rock.

We can see beautiful green scenery 360 degrees. No wonder so many happy faces 🙂

From Elephant Rock, we only 13km from Senai airport, or 20km from Mount Austin. Pack up to next stop.

We detoured to Specialized bike shop. Window shop only, not enough budget 🙂

From here, we are only 7km from our lunch venue.

Tip 06 Lunch and photos at Eco Spring.

This new corner has many Instagrammable spots and popular cafes.

Please order some juicy burgers at Woodfire.

We stayed 1 hour at Eco Spring(woodfire lunch and photos). This spot is popular with both couples and families, plenty of activities and cafes for everyone.

Eco Spring Lab photos

The original plan was to pop by Mount Austin for coffee. But we decided we had enough fun for the day and decided to ride home.

Tip 07 Route Mount Austin to JB

Route 3 would be the fastest path. Take note minimum shoulders and faster cars. We would recommend Route 35 (through Permas Jaya) and Stulang for new riders.

Do expect more SLOPES up and down along Route 3 towards Taman Sentosa direction. Do take note road condition is more rough and more pot holes too. (This is the same route 3 which can bring you North to Mersing)

Checkout YouTube of Route 3 below. There are always plenty of slopes for the return trip (towards SG custom).

If time permits, you can detour to Plentong Go Kart (off Permas Jaya). Read previous blog post here.

Credits and references:

a)Thanks to other pioneers for sharing their Strava or Google Map GPX. You can reference our own GPX link here. Just open in your mobile phone and follow turn by turn. Our Elephant Rock YouTube link is here

b) Cycling to Elephant Rock would not be possible without the rich resources from Facebook group Cycling SG to Malaysia Facebook group. This should be your one stop shop for your Johor/Malaysia cycling research. More photos and videos about Elephant Rock here