If you were insane you could do this in a regular weekend from Jakarta – but you would have to climb at night. I flew to Banjarmasin on the Friday night, stayed there for the night (Mira Hotel – cheap and clean/modern) arranged transport (via Pak Amat in Loksado) for first thing on Sat morning and started hiking by lunchtime. Back down on Sunday and had a long sleep in Loksado before heading back to Banjarmasin on Monday morning.
Loksado was a very pleasant area but, having heard of the area before, I was surprised not to find any other foreigners or even a decent place to eat. The hotel, Wisma Loksado, sits on an island and the river flows either side of it. Unfortunately there was no a/c and not even a fan so it was a very hot night. To add insult to injury there was no alcohol in the warungs. A real shame – the place could really do well with foreigners but the local policy makers appear to be rather conservative Muslims. Not much respect for ‘unity in diversity’ in South Kalimantan.
The night we spent on the mountain was a stormy one. The young Dayak lads built themselves a wooden shelter but they dived into the tent as soon as the thunder and lightning started! Unfortunately, so did the leeches – there are quite a few here, as on most if not all mountains in Kalimantan.
I was worried the skies weren’t going to clear in time for morning but they did and we had a great view over the surrounding forests.
The trail is in good condition too – not too much litter. There are little red bits of tarpaulin stapled to trees to mark the way.
At the summit there are a few banknotes left as offerings to the Dayak spirits I suppose. There was an egg up there too! I have no idea what spirits might do with an egg and I didn’t check if it was boiled or not!
The Dayak guides were great – really fast. Pak Amat wanted to come but he said 2 days would be too fast for him and he was amazed that we made it back to Loksado by 1pm on Sunday. The guides also managed to get quite a lot of extra drinking water from Bamboo stems.
I suppose a lot of people think Kalimantan is a tough place to find a hike with good views that you can do in a short space of time. This is the obvious choice for a long weekend.

Some great info on bagging this one from Udhin….if anyone is keen on joining me I may try this one in early August….

1. Loksado
- kalau mau ke Loksado via bandara Syamsudinoor (banjarmasin) langsung cari angkot L300 (antar kabupaten) tujuan Kandangan tarif berkisar antara Rp. 25.000 – Rp. 30.000 (3 jam perjalanan).
- kalau udah nyampe Kandangan (minta berenti depan Bank BRI Kandangan) ada 2 alternatif pilihan transportasi menuju loksado yaitu : angkutan pedesaan (biasa ada di seputaran Muara Biluy) tanya saja sama tukang becak/minta antar ke Muara Biluy itu, tarif Rp. 10.000 – Rp. 15.000. bisa juga naik ojek tarif sekitar Rp. 50.000 – Rp. 60.000 (pilihan kalo-kalo udah ga ad angkutan pedesaan lagi). (40 menit – 1 jam).
- kalo dah nyampe loksado bilang aja mau ke Balai Adat Malaris atau ke PIM (pondok Informasi Mangkuraksa), pondok yg dibangun masyarakat lokal sbg pusat informasi Adat & wisata, kalo bisa kesana saja jangan nginap di wisma Loksado.

2. Gunung Besar
- ambil angkutan (L 300) jurusan Barabai/Tanjung minta singgah di terminal kota Barabai, tarif Rp. 30.000 – 35.000 (dari bandara ), trus cari angkutan tujuan Birayang tarif Rp. 5.000 – Rp. 10.000.
- dari Birayang cari angkutan pedesaan tujuan Batu Kambar tarifnya Rp. 25.000 – Rp. 30.000.
- kalo dah nyampe Desa Batu Kambar cari aja rumah bapak Noorsewan, teman – teman pecinta alam biasa numpang nginap di rumah beliau, kalo mau pake jasa porter/guide bisa tanya -tanya sama beliau.
- dari desa batu kambar tinggal jalan kaki ke arah Balai Adat Kiyo sekitar 30 menit – 1 jam dari desa batu kambar, disini bisa nyari guide/porter (disarankan makai jasa guide/porter), karna jalurnya terlalu banyak simpangan & jalan setapak bekas masyarakat berburu dan nyadap karet, tarif sekitar Rp. 50.000 – Rp. 100.000/hari.
- dari Balai Adat Kiyo estimasi waktu perjalanan ke base camp sungai karuh sekitar 6 jam. dari base camp ini ke puncak bisa 3 – 4 jam.
- dari base camp Sungai Karuh bisa turun ke Loksado dgn melewati beberapa balai adat masyarakat dayak. ( jalur ini yang menguasai cuma guide/porter lokal dari desa batu kambar/ balai Kiyo.

* sangat disarankan memakai jasa porter/guide lokal.

and a rough translation from Google….

1. Loksado
- If you want to Loksado via airport Syamsudinoor (banjarmasin) direct search for public transportation L300 (between districts) Kandangan goal tariff ranges between Rp. 25,000 – Rp. 30,000 (3 hours drive).
- If you’ve nyampe Kandangan (ask the front berenti Kandangan Bank BRI) there are two alternative transportation options to loksado namely: rural transportation (normally found in around Muara Biluy) ask each pedicab / Estuary Biluy’m driven to it, the tariff of Rp. 10,000 – Rp. 15,000. can also ride a motorcycle taxi fare of about Rp. 50,000 – Rp. 60,000 (if option-if already ga ad rustic again). (40 minutes – 1 hour).
- Kalo aja dah nyampe loksado say want to Balai Adat Malaris or PIM (cottage Mangkuraksa Information), local community-built shack as Adat & tourist information center, if there can be no staying in the guesthouse Loksado.

2. Big Mountain
- Take transit (L 300) majoring Barabai / Tanjung ask Barabai stop at the city terminal, the tariff of Rp. 30000-35000 (from airport), trus looking for transportation purposes Birayang rate Rp. 5,000 – Rp. 10,000.
- From rustic looking Birayang Stone purposes Kambar rate of Rp. 25,000 – Rp. 30,000.
- Kalo dah nyampe Stone Village Kambar looking Noorsewan father wrote home, friends – friends of nature lovers ordinary passengers staying at his house, if want to use services of a porter / guide may ask questions at him.
- From the stone village kambar live walking towards Indigenous Kiyo Hall about 30 minutes – 1 hour from the village of stone kambar, nyari here can guide / porter (recommended wearing a service guide / porter), because the track is too much deviation & trails former hunting community and tap rubber, the rate of about Rp. 50,000 – Rp. 100.000/hari.
- Balai Adat Kiyo estimation of travel time to the base camp karuh river about 6 hours. from base camp to the summit could be 3-4 hours.
- From base camp down to the river could Karuh Loksado through several halls with indigenous Dayak communities. (This pathway that controls only guide / local porters from the village of stone kambar / hall Kiyo.

* Strongly recommended the services of a porter / guide local.