Malaysia Travel Guide

Top Things to See

• Admire Kuala Lumpur's architectural gems including the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, in Independence Square, which blends Victorian and Moorish architectural styles, Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, which resembles a Moorish palace and the striking National and Friday Mosques.

• Take a short trip out of Kuala Lumpur to the remarkable Batu Caves, situated in a hollow limestone ridge, and housing a Hindu temple.

• Tour Malaysia's most impressive mosques including Kuala Kangsar, the Ubudiah Mosque, the State Mosque in Seremban, the Tranquerah Mosque, one of Malaysia's oldest, in Malacca, Kuching's Sarawak State Mosque, with its magnificent gilt domes and Labuan's futuristic An'nur Jamek Mosque.

• Explore subterranean Malaysia, with a visit to the cave temples at Perak Tong, Sam Poh Tong and Kek Lok Tong. The Museum Cave has a display of statues and murals from Hindu mythology.

• In Gunung Mulu National Park (website: www.mulupark.com), a World Heritage site, visit the most extensive cave system in the world, including the Deer Cave, Clearwater Cave and The Cave of the Winds. The park is also home to Sarawak's last nomadic tribe.

• Traverse Malaysia's stunning rainforests and jungles. Templar Park, 22km (14 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur, is a well-preserved tract of primary rainforest. Jungle paths, swimming lagoons and waterfalls lie within the park boundaries.

• Be at one with nature in Malaysia's largest national park, Taman Negara (website: www.tamannegara.org). Surrounded by the world's oldest tropical forest (supposedly 130 million years old), the park is a favorite haunt for outdoor enthusiasts and birdwatchers.

• Don a pair of binoculars at the Kuala Gula Bird Sanctuary in Ipoh, host to over 150 species of birds. Lucky visitors may see smooth otters, long-tailed macaque and ridge-back dolphins.

• Horticulturalists and bird lovers ashould head for Penang Bird Park (website: www.penangbirdpark.com.my). This landscaped park in Seberang Jaya is home to over 400 bird species and specially designed aviaries are placed among manmade islands with beautiful waterfalls and ornamental gardens.

• Visit the twin islands of Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil (website: www.pulauperhentian.com.my). The country's most beautiful islands boast pristine white beaches, crystal clear waters and are still relatively unexploited. The islands are popular for scuba-diving and snorkeling with accessible reefs.

• For an unusual attraction, go to the Snake Temple in Penang, which swarms with poisonous snakes, their venomous threat countered by heavily drugging them with incense.

• In the southern state of Johor, be sure to watch the trance-inducing Kuda Kepang dances in Muar, accompanied by the euphony of ghazal music and devotional chanting.

• In the interior of Pahang, visit Malaysia's answer to Loch Ness: Lake Chini's waters are said to contain mythological monsters that guard the entrance to a legendary sunken city.

• See orang-utans in their natural environment. The Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Center in Sandakan, Borneo, has many of these ‘wild men of Borneo' - in fact, it has the world's largest orang-utan population.

• Take respite from Malaysia's humid cities and soak up the magnificent views from the mountain resorts of the Central and Cameron Highlands.

Top Things to Do

• Attend one of Malaysia's annual festivals, magnificent spectacles bursting with color. Puja Umur (the Sultan's birthday) is celebrated with a week-long festival, beginning with a parade in Kota Bharu. The Annual Sabah International Dragon Boat Festival is also popular.

• Scuba-dive in the tropical waters off Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. Prime sites include Layang Layang, Miri, Pulau Redang, Pulau Sipadan, Pulau Perhentian, Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park and Labuan Island.

• Go jungle trekking in the Taman Negara National Park (website: www.tamannegara.org). There are many clearly marked trails including a canopy walkway. Expert guides should be hired from the Wildlife Department at the Taman Negara Resort at Kuala Tahan.

• Ascend southeast Asia's highest peak, Mount Kinabulu (4,094m/13,432ft), located in the Kinabalu National Park. No technical skills are required, but a guide and a climbing permit (which can be bought on location) are compulsory.

• Play one of Malaysia's traditional, unusual sports, including gasing, or top spinning (called Main Gasing), which uses tops fashioned from hardwood and delicately balanced with lead, Wau-kite flying and Sepak Takraw, a game like volleyball, played with a ball made of rattan strips.

• Stay in a Malaysian longhouse, which are common along the rivers in Sarawak and Sabah, and are really entire villages housed under one single roof, inhabited by native communities. Visitors should be accompanied by a local guide.

• Relive Malaysia's colonial past at its oldest city, Malacca (website: www.tourism-melaka.com), a couple of hours south of Kuala Lumpur on the coast. Sights include the Portuguese enclave and numerous Dutch colonial buildings, as well as the distinctive Jonker Street, whose shops offer a range of traditional goods.

• Walk in the delightful parkland surrounding Tugu Negara, Malaysia's National Monument in Kuala Lumpur, which commemorates the ultimately successful struggle against the occupying Japanese during World War II and communist insurgents in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

• Bathe in the restorative waters of the Pedas Hot Springs, 30km (18 miles) south of Seremban. Visitors will find bathing enclosures, dining and recreational facilities.

• Stroll through the Tasek Perdana Lake Gardens, one of Kuala Lumpur's best-known natural landmarks. Within the gardens are Parliament House and the National Monument, an impressive brass structure and one of the world's largest free-standing sculptures.

• Take in a spectacular cityscape from the viewing level of Kuala Lumpur's voluminous Petronas Twin Towers, which dominate the city at a height of 436m (1,453ft). Alternatively ascend the dizzying heights of the Menara Kuala Lumpur.

• Relax on Penang's sun-kissed beaches (website: www.tourismpenang.gov.my), and explore historic colonial George Town, the island's capital. Penang is also famous for its food.

• Spend, spend, spend in the free port and duty-free shopping haven of Langkawi Island, where pristine sandy beaches await at the end of a long shopping trip.