Mount Ophir

Mount Ophir
Gunung Ledang
Waterfall on Gunung Ledang
Highest point
Elevation	1,276 m (4,186 ft)
Coordinates	02°22′27″N 102°36′28″E / 2.37417°N 102.60778°E / 2.37417; 102.60778
Geography
Location	Ledang, Johor, Malaysia
Parent range	Titiwangsa

Mount Ophir, or more commonly known by its Malay name, Gunung Ledang, is a mountain situated in the Gunung Ledang National Park located in Tangkak District, Johor, Malaysia. The summit is located between the border of Muar and Malacca. Standing at 1,276 m (4,186 ft), with a clear trail leading to the peak, the mountain is a popular destination among amateur climbers. Mount Ophir is also the 64th highest mountain in Malaysia and arguably the most climbed mountain in the country.

There are a few popular opinions regarding the origin of the mountain's name. According to one opinion, ancient history points to the mountain being the site of rich gold deposits, luring traders from as far as Greece and China. Ophir was a biblical-era land rich with natural resources mentioned in the Torah, also known at the Hebrew Bible.

In the 14th Century, the Chinese seafarers plying the Straits of Malacca called it Kim Sua meaning the 'golden mountain', possibly from the Hokkien or Taiwanese words: kim, or in characters 金 meaning gold and sua, or 山 meaning mountain .

Another source said that the Javanese during the period of the Majapahit empire named the mountain Gunong Ledang, which means 'lofty mountain', from Archaic Javanese word ledang meaning 'show-off'.

It has been called "Ophir" by British cartographers since at least 1801, based on a map from that year. The name Ophir itself is thought to have originated from any of these languages:

There is a popular Malay folklore which told of a princess with magical powers who resided on the mountain. She was wooed to be the wife of the then Sultan of Malacca, Sultan Mahmud Shah. However, she set seven impossible conditions for him as a means to reject his proposal.

The conditions were: