Malaysia cracks down on social media hiking trend after jump in numbers needing rescue
Officials are banning some ‘compressed hikes’ which involve walkers tackling demanding routes in short timeframesMalaysia’s government is tightening hiking rules nationwide after a social media trend left increasing numbers of adventurers needing to be rescued when they became lost or…
By · August 3, 2026 · 1 min read
This article was originally published by
The Guardian World
and is republished here under license.
Officials are banning some ‘compressed hikes’ which involve walkers tackling demanding routes in short timeframes
Malaysia’s government is tightening hiking rules nationwide after a social media trend left increasing numbers of adventurers needing to be rescued when they became lost or stranded in remote locations.
In the first five months of 2026, Malaysia saw 52 cases of lost hikers, an increase of nearly 30% compared with the same period the previous year, the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department told local media.
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