Ask any serious paddlers who have had experience in Asia what they think of the white water in peninsular Malaysia and you'll get some very strange stares and perhaps even a few looks of outright contempt. Most of them will tell you immediately there's no white water worth the name here, and the few stretches that are commercially rafted are for beginners only.

They're completely wrong. Hidden away in the jungles, national parks and mountain valleys are some truly superb stretches of rapids that, for sheer thrills, challenges and adrenalin action, can hold their own with the best in the world. The fact is that nobody has really taken the time to check out these places, and it's only now that a few hardcore explorers are getting into them that the truth is starting to come out.

What's even more surprising -- and pleasing for white-water fiends -- is that one of the best of these stretches is just a two-hour drive from downtown Kuala Lumpur, on a river named the Selangor.

Jungle secrets

Look at a map of Malaysia and you'll quickly see why there's plenty of potential for high-quality white water. The peninsula is divided from north to south by a massive mountain range that consists of row after row of tall, steep ridges about 2000m in height. These mountains, and the deep valleys that separate them, are covered by dense jungle, much of which is still untouched and penetrated only by footpaths and the occasional logging road (so it's not surprising rafters and kayakers haven't been in to check out all the rivers). In season, the monsoons dump great falls of rain here on an almost daily basis, and the streams fill quickly and roar down to the sea through dense rainforest: ideal paddling conditions.

The Selangor River rises near a settlement called Fraser's Hill, which is about 150km north from Kuala Lumpur by road. The first stretches of this river are too shallow to navigate, but about 30/40km downstream it opens up, the volume increases and the flow starts to accelerate. For about 13km after that there's very intense white-water rapids.

Local Malaysian paddlers Carl Traeholt and Rubin Gan have been exploring the river for about three years, rafting it, kayaking it and even doing some of the stretches in open canoes. They've recorded and named the rapids, worked out the best access points and learnt the best times to go to get the conditions they want. They've also divided the white water on the Selangor into three distinct stretches: the Chilling Run, the Middle Run and the Lower Run.

The Chilling Run

This stretch gets its name from the put-in point, which is right where the Chilling River flows into the Selangor. From there on it's a straight 5km blast of almost non-stop white water: in all, over 30 rapids have been identified and named. Most are grade 3 to grade 4, but when there's been heavy rain in the surrounding area some of the rapids can get up to grade 4 plus. The river is still narrow with plenty of obstacles, boulders, nasty holes and stoppers, and it's dropping at the rate of 45m/km, so the flow is very fast. This stretch is for experienced paddlers of at least grade 3 standard, and can only be attempted in kayaks or canoes.

Some of the more spectacular rapids are Nasty Drop, a 100m stretch of grade 3 to grade 4 white water; Big Drop, which is more of the same; Big Drop Corner, where the flow gets squeezed through a narrow passage 2/3m wide; Canoe Run, a 350m rapid that starts as a grade 2 and picks up to grade 4; and Long Rapid, another 300m-plus run that ends in a boulder field with just enough space to squeak your way through a series of 1m falls. The whole stretch culminates in Pertak Falls, a 3.5m drop that's a tough grade 4.

The Chilling Run is a very beautiful stretch of water that's covered by jungle canopy for most of the way, and has plenty of convenient stopping places if you need a break.

The Middle Run

Below Pertak Falls the river calms down a bit until it crosses Fraser's Hill Road. It's a 2.5km stretch but the drop is just 15m/km. There are seven sets of rapids, most of which are easy grade 2s. The river is still fast flowing here, and the surrounding scenery is spectacular rainforest, so this is an ideal stretch for beginners.

The Lower Run

After Fraser's Hill Road the river becomes a real white-water challenge again. It flows 5/6km away from the road and runs through logged forest, resuming a steep gradient of 45m/km. Several other streams flow into the Selangor along this stretch, so the volume is considerably greater and the rapids are bigger and more powerful, though not necessarily more difficult or dangerous. The extra water flows make the river suitable for rafting.

One of the first big rapids is the aptly named First Drop, which is a 150m-long winding grade 3 that builds up till it ends in a 1.5m grade 3-plus drop with a very nasty back-current. It looks innocent as you approach, but Carl Traeholt warns that he once got caught here and was mashed, spun and tumbled for over 10 seconds -- a long time when you're in the jaws of a convulsing rapid. First Canyon is another one to take care with. It's a grade 4/5 rapid that starts with a 200m grade 3-plus lead-in, then takes you through a boulder field full of holes and tricky turbulence, ending up with a hair-raising charge through a 5m-wide mini canyon. Further downstream are Six Hole Rapid, a 300m-long stretch that starts as a grade 3-plus followed by winding grade 2 and ends in a narrow, grade 3-plus drop over a 2m waterfall; and Chicken Rapid, a 20m grade 4 drop. The biggest rapid on the whole river is Second Canyon, which starts with about 300m of grade 4 paddling and reaches a crescendo as it surges through a 50m-long canyon, which creates grade 5 conditions. The amount of turbulence in the water here is enough to send shivers down the spine of even experienced paddlers, and you need to be extremely careful of a very dangerous hole right at the beginning of the canyon. Have a look at this one before you go through, and if you don't think your skills are up to it - don't try it!

Despite flowing through newly logged forest, the Lower Run is a very beautiful part of the river. Most of the way the steeply sloping banks are still covered by trees and vegetation, or great rock falls. There are two small streams that create waterfalls as they flow into the main course of the Selangor, and these are ideal places to stop for a refreshing break. Further downstream from the Lower Run the fast flow of the Selangor is brought to an abrupt stop by a series of three man-made, low-head dams. Because of this, and the increasing amount of pollution that starts to appear as the river starts to pass through settled areas, the lower stretches aren't that much fun.

Even so, the Selangor is a gem, and perhaps the best white-water river so far charted in Malaysia. The rapids definitely provide challenges for paddlers of all skill levels, and the proximity to Kuala Lumpur, the relatively warm water and the beauty of the rainforest scenery are all added bonuses. It's not as powerful or fast as some of the great Nepalese rivers -- which have drops of 100m/km -- but compares with very favourably with US rivers, where a drop of 50m/km is normally considered the limit of a runnable river.

Summary

Best season: September to April, when the flows are at their highest.

Access: 2hrs drive from Kuala Lumpur.

River profile: From the Chilling junction to the spillover at Ampang Pecah, the river drops on average 45m/km.

Ratings: During average water level, grade 3; at high water level grade 4.

Water quality: Clean and clear at normal level, a bit turgid after heavy rain.

Major hazards: Flash floods in the wet season make the river difficult but still runnable. However, the real danger here is logs and even boulders that get washed down in the torrent.