Bukit Kutu

Treacher Hill is named after a former British Resident of Selangor, William Hood Treacher,[2] whereas the alternative Malayan name Bukit Kutu comes from the Orang Asli people who said the route was too long.[3] Kutu in Malay language means flea, and Bukit means hill, literally "flea hill".[4][5]

Bukit Kutu in 1921

The hill station was established in 1893[6] and housed only two bungalows.[2] The first bungalow was constructed by the Selangor government in 1895, using granite and timber; the second bungalow was constructed in 1904.[7] They served as a lodge for visitors renting for a $1 per day for visitors and available free of charge for government officers. Occupying them required a permit from the Kuala Kubu District Officer. Each bungalow provided bedrooms, a landline telephone, a fireplace, a tennis court and a telescope.[8] The hill station was connected by a 15.3 km (9.5 mi) bridle path,[9] which served as the only road connecting Kuala Kubu with Bukit Kutu. The Straits Times described the road's quality as "extremely bad" and felt it was a "pity" that a better road had not been constructed considering the hill station was a favorite tourist destination.[10]

By 1935, the abandoned bungalows in Bukit Kutu were in ruins and the place had become a ghost town. Both buildings were sold to the government of British Malaya as they no longer paid their way.[11] The Japanese army bombed the hill station during World War II. With the abandonment of the town, the only road access to the hill station became overgrown with thick vegetation, leaving it hidden from public view.[12] As of 2020, the only remains of this ghost town are a chimney, a fireplace and a well.[12][13] The chimney was part of the bungalow previously owned by Tom Sargent, a construction engineer for Federated Malay States Railway.

The trail to the ghost town has become a popular route with hikers, with peak use occurring on weekends.[13] As there will be risks of getting lost inside the trail, all hikers are required to register with police and obtain a permit to access the trail that leads to the hill station.[14] There has been several safety related incidents that have been reported since it became a popular hiking trail. A teacher from Taman Keramat went missing inside the trail in November 2015. While police has been attempted to search for the missing person,[15] as of 2019, her remains has yet to be found.[16] One hiker was rescued after they collapsed from a muscle cramp in November 2016.[17] In July 2017, a hiker from Egypt was reportedly missing on Bukit Kutu, only to be rediscovered after 16 hours.[18]

Bukit Kutu is a mountainous terrain. The altitude at its highest point is 1,053 metres (3,455 ft) above sea level.[1] The terrain is described as steep.[10] It is one of the four areas that serve as the water catchment area for the Sungai Selangor River. The other three are Hulu Selangor, Semangkok and Fraser's Hill.[19] Aside from forests which cover the water catchment areas, the other natural features in Bukit Kutu include the Lata Medang waterfall,[20] and a large stone called Batu Tebung, which was reportedly defaced by irresponsible people who visited the site.[1] Samuel Robert Aiken, a geography professor at Concordia University, classified the hill station as minor because of the lack of flat land that hindered additional development.[21] The main environmental issue created by visitors is littering with rubbish left behind in the area.[22]