Outdoor Malaysia | Perak | Whitewater Rafting in Gopeng

October 10, 2015

Last updated January 2024 - scroll to bottom for package or contact info

Even though I love being in the water so much, I used to cringe at the idea of doing whitewater rafting. The image of water gushing, slamming big boulders in the rapids was not helping either; I mean like, the list of the what-ifs I could think of was endless =D

However, I happen to have friends who are certified whitewater rafting guides and later learned from them that there are safety procedures and measures involved in this recreational sport. Like duhhhh of course la, just like any other sports he he .. but it was until the umpteenth time I asked them about how safe whitewater rafting really is that I finally did it.

This was after several times they told me that they even rafted with kids. So what more could they ever say to convince me? :P I had no more excuse really, except to face my fear and do this yeaahhh!

So on a very early Saturday morning, about 4 am actually, a bunch of us -friends and cousins made our way from Negeri Sembilan to Gopeng town in Perak via the PLUS highway. We wanted to reach the Gopeng toll exit by 8.30 am where my rafter friend waited for us; he then took us to the rafting spot just 5 minutes away from the toll.

By the way, That's my friend in the green helmet in the article below, trying to capsize the 'ship' to add to the fun experience .. aha yes, so I have famous friends :P

We parked our car at a car park right beside the river - at the rafting end-point, quickly changed our attires at a toilet in the vicinity and later a lorry came to pick us up; yup, we hopped on the back of a lorry to be transported upriver where the starting point is situated about 10-minute ride uphill.

This is our rafting end-point; photo taken from the car park

I felt like a cow ha ha and some felt like immigrants being deported. But it was part of the experience and it was fun =D

When we reached the starting point, we saw the river was flowing so fast, there's a lot of water gushing and fear started to creep in... no no no .. I got this!

When I saw the water, I was like .. "really? we're rafting on that water??"

But fear didn't stop us to take some selfies though he he :P

And then it was time for the safety briefing.. a very informational and reassuring one I might add. Besides the do's and don'ts and the proper way to don our gears, we were also taught the code instructions the guides use to maneuver our craft.

My friend Daus briefing us on the gears

Demos on the proper sitting position, holding the paddle, and some code instructions..

In case we fall off the raft, this is how we should 'lie' floating on the water

After the talk, we headed down to the river where a water confidence session was conducted. This was good coz now we could practice what we learned in the briefing before taking on the real thing.

One quick shot before I hit the water

To make our bodies get used to the fast current and to teach us what to do when our raft capsizes, Daus held us one by one while we lie floating near the fast flowing water and literally let us go with the current; like this ...

This is the chance to practice that floating position we learned earlier ^^

on his cue, we swam back ashore. I was nervous but the first one picked to go .. I could imagine how everybody felt when they saw me drifted away, I mean I would feel the same thing.

Some of us had a bit of struggle to swim back due to the fast current (nothing serious really, we have buoyancy aid on for goodness sake), I think the guides have expected this having handled hundreds or maybe thousands of first- timers before, coz this was when they demonstrated rescue steps using the throw-bag as explained in the safety talk earlier.

After that, we hopped on our rafts and practice some more just around the starting point, this time on responding to the code of instructions given and maneuver accordingly.

For example, when the guides shouted 'boom boom' we had to get into the raft, duck and properly hold the paddles. Boom boom will happen when we paddle into a big rapid, basically where your adrenaline flow would spike most ha ha. It would seem like you'd want to avoid these rapids at first but trust me, after one or two boom booms you may want to get just about every opportunity there is to take on the big ones ha ha (while still sitting in the raft that is).

And when the guides thought that we're ready, off we went ..

Nice shot of the action huh? our accompanying photographer-guide went to perfect spots to take our photos

No mercy baby .. ^^

A 'high-five' after surviving every big rapid yeahh!

Half way through, we stopped for a bit of r&r and just enjoying the water ..

The guides provided us with bottled water to quench out thirst after a half-time of shouting and paddling and then we're back on the raft ..

It was my best 10-km wild river running yet. The water current got weaker as we neared the end-point downstream where the river gets wider with less boulders, no more boom booms to look forward to and it was almost like a lazy ride on the raft. But it was all good.

We came ashore exactly at the spot where we parked our cars, took more photos while we were still in the gears,

Victory high-five with the paddles :D

and our delicious lunch buffet was already waiting for us .. under the pavilion next to the car park. What an utter bliss after 2-3 hours spending all that energy paddling and screaming and laughing and capsizing and swimming ..

Awesome lunch spread

This trip was super fun, including the subsequent trip I had made sometime later. You could just do a day-trip and couple the activity with cascading (waterfall abseiling) or caving like I did in my other trip here but for this time we actually coupled it with a kayaking adventure in Chenderoh Lake, another 1 hour and 15 minutes drive up north. We headed there right after we finished our lunch =D

Whitewater rafting at Kampar River in Gopeng is considered a Level I-III for such activity, it changes according to the water level here. This is why it is very suitable for first-timers or family.

However, it is not short on adrenaline-pumping moments; these are the more recent photos of the trips that I've organized since 2014..

As far as I know, the difficulty level goes up to Level VI for river grade. These days I also do whitewater kayaking @ Gopeng and rafting trips @ Slim River and a few other rivers in Perak of higher grades :P ..

These are some of the actions taken @ Slim River..

Lip-biting, teeth clenching moment @ the highlight of the course; Box Rapid (Jeram Kotak) - Grade 4

A must-do victory shot when you successfully take on the Box Rapid

Why not .. hahaha

At Slim River, we end the excursion with a short body rafting sesh ;)

Getting to Gopeng:

The simplest way is to travel on the PLUS highway and take the Gopeng exit. You should have already booked this activity with the operator and meet them at this exit. Activity usually starts at 9.00 am so be sure to reach the meeting point at around 8.00-830 am.

For other rafting locations, please contact me directly via Whatsapp at the number in the photo below.

Cost:

RM 150 per pax including activity insurance for a group of 4 pax minimum. Please check this out or see below should you want to book a trip.

Other amenities:

- Private campsite (rate from RM20/pax/night)

- Private parking and toilet/changing room facilities
- Open musolla for muslims and restrooms

Everybody knows that whitewater rafting is a great team-building element; here's our basic package for day trip team building program. You can also request for a 2D1N or 3D2N program based on your specific requirements and budget.