Taiping

Malaysia's wettest town and a historic tin-mining centre, with the century-old rain trees of Taiping Lake Gardens, Maxwell Hill, mangrove fireflies and a long list of "Malaysia's firsts".

Taiping lies in northern Perak, Malaysia, in the district of Larut, Matang and Selama. It grew up in the 19th century on the Larut tin mines, was once the capital of Perak, and is one of the wettest towns in Malaysia. It claims many "firsts" in the country: the first museum (Perak Museum), the first railway, the first zoo, the first English-language school and more, and the old town streets still have neat rows of British colonial-era shophouses.

There are three main areas to explore. First, the town and Taiping Lake Gardens, where century-old rain trees droop over the water and plenty of people come to walk and jog in the early morning; by the lake are Taiping Zoo and its Night Safari, and the nearby War Cemetery, All Saints' Church and Perak Museum are within walking or cycling distance. Second, Maxwell Hill (Bukit Larut) to the east, at about 1,250 m, is Malaysia's oldest hill station and can only be reached by the official Land Rover service or on foot. Third, Kuala Sepetang, about 15 km west, where you can visit the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve and traditional charcoal kilns, take an evening boat trip to see eagles and fireflies, and finish with a seafood dinner. About 25 km north, Bukit Merah Lake has boats to Orang Utan Island.

The climate is hot and humid year-round, with afternoon thunderstorms almost daily, so mornings are best for sightseeing; Mar–Aug is relatively drier. Taiping is on the North–South Expressway; the ETS electric train from Kuala Lumpur takes about 3 hours, and Penang and Ipoh are about 1.5 hours and 1 hour away by road respectively. Sights in town are close together, so 1.5–2 days is enough: one day for the town, lake gardens and Night Safari, and one for the Kuala Sepetang mangroves and fireflies; if you want to go up Maxwell Hill, book the Land Rover in advance. Local food highlights include the Larut Matang Hawker Centre, chee cheong fun, char kway teow and Antong Coffee.

Top sights

• Taiping Lake Gardens – Malaysia's oldest park, created in 1880 from an abandoned tin-mining lake. Century-old rain trees droop their branches over the water, maki…
• Zoo Taiping & Night Safari – Malaysia's first zoo, opened in 1961 beside the lake gardens. Its Night Safari lets you see animals after dark.
• Bukit Larut (Maxwell Hill) – Malaysia's oldest hill station, at about 1,250 m. A Land Rover climbs through rainforest to sea-of-clouds views and colonial-era bungalows.
• Perak Museum – Malaysia's first museum, built in 1883 in a colonial-style building, displaying natural history, indigenous cultures and the history of Per…
• Kuala Sepetang – A traditionally Chinese-majority fishing village at a mangrove estuary, with stilt houses and rows of boats. By evening, take a boat to fee…
• Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve – One of the world's best-managed mangrove forests, with boardwalks through dense woodland where you can see fiddler crabs, mudskippers and m…
• Kuala Sepetang Charcoal Factory – A century-old charcoal works that burns mangrove timber in domed earth kilns. Neatly stacked wood and the kilns make for striking photos.
• Taiping War Cemetery – A Commonwealth war cemetery for Allied servicemen killed in the Malayan Campaign of the Second World War, with immaculate lawns and the rai…
• Ling Nam Temple – One of Taiping's oldest Chinese temples, founded by early Cantonese miners, with fine woodcarvings and Qing-dynasty plaques.
• All Saints' Church, Taiping – Built in 1886, one of Malaysia's oldest Anglican churches, with a wooden structure and an old graveyard.
• Old Taiping Railway Station – The starting point of the Malay Peninsula's first railway. The colonial-era station building stands quietly, a witness to the history of ti…
• Taiping Clock Tower & Old Town – An 1890 clock tower and rows of British colonial shophouses. The old town is the best area for walking and finding traditional snacks.
• Larut Matang Hawker Centre – Taiping's most popular long-running hawker centre, where char kway teow, satay, cendol and other local snacks are gathered in one place.
• Antong Coffee Mill – Founded in 1933, one of Malaysia's oldest coffee mills still roasts beans over wood and charcoal fires. Visitors can tour and sample the co…
• Burmese Pool – A natural stream pool at the foot of Maxwell Hill, with cool mountain spring water and boulders, popular with locals for weekend dips.
• Kota Ngah Ibrahim – A 19th-century fortified mansion of the Larut tin-mining chieftain, later used as a court, a school and Japanese military headquarters, now…
• Bukit Merah Orang Utan Island – An orangutan conservation island in Bukit Merah Lake, where visitors watch orangutans roaming freely from wire-mesh walkways.

Where to eat

• Larut Matang Hawker Centre – Taiping's best-known hawker centre, with over a hundred stalls split into Chinese and halal Malay sections; the fish ba…
• Yut Sun Restaurant – A Hainanese tea room opened in 1926 and halal-certified; the signature Hainanese chicken chop comes with brown sauce, p…
• Ansari Famous Cendol – Taiping's famous cendol shop, run by three generations; the signature is glutinous rice cendol with grilled glutinous r…
• Bismillah Restaurant (Taiping) – Said to date back to 1900, this is among Taiping's oldest mamak stalls, known for its poppy-seed nasi kandar curry and…

Itineraries

• Peninsular Malaysia West Coast & Langkawi – Travel north from Kuala Lumpur via Melaka, the highlands, Ipoh, Taiping, and Penang, ending your journey in Langkawi.