Fun and Exciting Places to go in Perak!
The capital of Perak State, Ipoh is Malaysia’s third largest city. In the olden days, it was the city of the rich where fortune from the tin mines of the Kinta Valley produced expansive growth and the city’s most elegant mansions.
There are a few places that will interest and attract tourists when visiting Perak. Here are a few destinations one should visit when travelling to Perak.
1. Royal Belum State Park
The Royal Belum State
Park is one of the few largest park in the northern parts of Peninsular
Malaysia. It is one part of an even bigger park named “Belum – Temengor Forest
Complex (BTFC)”, professionally shared with a Thailand company. Together with
another Malaysian park “Taman Negara National Park”, it is one of the oldest
park and rainforest in the world, dating back with over 130 million years.
It is one of Perak
biggest attractions and houses up to over a variety of flora & faunas and a
mix variety of wildlife. Its rainforests remain fairly untouched by any outside
organizations or cooperation’s due to the fact it’s objective of protecting
these variety of Mother Nature. The park also houses the 14 of the world’s most
endangered and threatened animals.
This includes mammals
which are the Malaysian tiger, the white handed gibbon, and the Asiatic
elephant. Other animals are the Malaysian sun bear, and the tapir, an
herbivorous mammal that strikes a similar resembles like a big only with a long
nose. (Picture provided)
It is said by tourists
and even locals that the park is the only place in Malaysia where all species
of hornbills can be spotted. It is also the place where the parasitic plant,
the “Rafflesia” can be seen here (Picture provided).
Within the park coincidentally, lies a lake called “Lake Temenggor”, which is the second largest
lake after Lake Kenyir which both can be located in Peninsular Malaysia. Just
like “Lake Kenyir”, it is another manmade lake intended for water catchments,
and consisting of a variety of aquatic species of freshwater variant, including
the Kelah, and Toman and much more which makes it an ideal destination for
fishing or for anglers. As the lake was once an island before becoming into a
lake, there are also small forested areas which is full of small island (Too be
more accurate, mountain peaks of big mountains and hills) can be visited by
locals or tourists. There are also resorts in this area to satisfy lounging
needs. (Left to Right; A Kelah fish and the resort “A – Hut Chalet”)
How to Get There
“Royal
Belum State Park”
Belum can be located at
the northeast end of Ipoh, Perak. There are many ways on how you can get there,
most commonly renting a car, or motorbike, and can go there by using public transportation like the bus or train. The Gateway to the park is a small village
of Pulau Bindang which is not hard to identify with the help of nearby locals
and destination maps. Once tourists have reached the village, there will be a
jetty point where tourists can get to their resort by boat.
Another faster
alternative is to go to Kota Bharu by aeroplane and then rent a car, or take a
taxi. From there on, tourists can drive to Belum in less than 3 hours.
Tourists and locals who
wishes to visit the park must have a permit to enter with terms and conditions
from the “Perak State Parks Corporations” (PSPC). Permit fees are in ringgit
Malaysia (RM) 10 per entry, all gender and ages and bringing in a camera will
charge an additional RM5 per unit of camera. The park is opened till night time
and visitors are allowed to experience the night activities of the park with
again T & C.
2. Gua Tempurung
Gua Tempurung (translated
as Shell Grotto), is a cave that can be located in Gopeng, Perak. It is a
popular destination among cave explorers, spelunkers, and caving fanatics.
Being one of the longest caves in Peninsula Malaysia, it is over 3 Kilometers
long and only part of it has been developed as a attraction cave with an electrical
lightings and walk paths. The cave also gave tourist the option of choosing
which range of the cave they wishes to explore, as well as choosing the
difficulty.
Historically, the cave
was found and identified in 187 in the maps provided by the then “Perak – Malay
Peninsula”. The mountain is geologically estimated at the age between 200 to
over 400 million years old and spectacularly most of its natural minerals still
hold elusive texture even after years of harsh climate changes. The cave is
systematically rebuild in some ways, with large intricate cave system with
spectacular speleotherms like stalagmites and lime stone contents.
Interestingly, these and more forms of natural limestone formations can be seen
as a form of architectural genius, gaps and formations which originally allowed
easy access for people.
How to get there,
locations and places to stay
The cave can be located
in “Lembah Tempurung (Tempurung Valley) which is near Gopeng, Perak, and 25
Kilometers to the south of Ipoh, which is also known as the capital of Perak.
Going there is easy as tourists can take public transportations or take shutters
from the facilities that provides them.
Tourists can consider
lounging at “Adeline Rest House” which provides transportation services to the
caves. It can be located at Kampung Geruntum near Sungai Itik, which is just 7
km from the Perak town of Gopeng. The place is Halal certified and tourists can
easily go there due to the place renowned reputation. Pricings are charged
based on packages and per heads. Individuals can choose which one they want
with a 2 days 1 night stay. Prices are 100 and over 200 above in (RM).
3. Kellie’s Castle
One of the most renowned
castle build in Perak, located near Batu Gajah, a 20 minute drive all the way
from Ipoh, Perak. The castle is described as being in ruined, and
architecturally unfinished. It was built by a British settler who came under
the occupation of a planter under the name of William Kellie Smith (thus, the
castle was named after him “Kellie”). According to historical accounts,
historians speculated that the castle was either build as a gift for his wife,
or a luxurious home for his son. However, the mansion was left unfinished when
Smith died in Lisbon, Portugal on a trip back to England.
Once used by the
descendants of the Tamil labourers bought over to Malaysia in order to work on
constructing the mansion, these Tamils still lives nearby the castle even
today. It is one of the local popular attraction spot in Perak after been
refurbished.
Specially, it was used as
the settings for the 1999 film “Anna and the King”, and the 2000 film “Skyline
Cruises”. It is opened from 9 am – 6 pm. Admission fees are based in ringgit
Malaysia (RM); 5 for foreigners, 4 for adults, 3 for secondary schoolers, and 2
for primary schoolers. Child aged six and below have free admissions.
4. Muzium Darul Ridzuan
The museum “Darul
Ridzuan”, a museum established in Perak was built during 1926 by Foo Choong
Kit, a rich and successfully established tin miner. It was built for the
intentions of being his own private domain and additionally, it was said that
once there were 40 people counted to be living inside the manor. Unfortunately
the house did not stayed under his possession for very long, and it was soon
was sold off to the Perak government in 1950. Only after years it was then
utilised in the premises as to house administrative of its departments of work.
In 1992, it was then finally decided that the manor would then be used as a
museum to exhibit the historical heritages preserved by the Perak museum all
the way since the starting development of Perak.
Visitors would also be
introduced to many of the state’s iconic characters for example, who was Hugh
Low and what did Swettenham achieved as well as many pictures of administrators
and rulers who came from British soil who had contributed in building the
fundamental importance of what makes Perak today now. Besides, visitors to the
museum can also explore an underground shelter which was used as a hideout from
air raids during World War II.
Operating hour starts
daily from 9.30 am to 5 pm. On Fridays it opens on 9.30 am to 12.15 noon and
2.45 to 5 pm. It is closed during 2 special occasions, “Hari Raya Puasa” and
“Hari Raya Haji”. Admission fees for both adult and children are free and
individuals could log online to find further information about the museum.
(Below is the map which will guide travellers to find the museum)
5. Cave Temple “Gunung Rapat”
In Ipoh, Perak, “Sam Poh
Tong” is known as the most famous cave temple at Gunung Rapat. It locates just
a few kilometres to the south of Ipoh. According to historians, legend says
that the cave was once discovered by a monk during 1890 who came all the way
from China as a by passer who pass by through Ipoh with the intention of
meditating. He continue on meditating on that particular cave temple until his
death 20 years later. There are also two neighbouring temples nearby, “Ling Sen
Tong” and “Nam Thean Tong”. This three cave temples were among the 3 most
visited caves temples in Gunung Rapat.
Nan Thean Tong on the
other hand has a history of more than 120 years old. It was discovered in 1867
by a Chinese Taoist named Kuong San Teik.
An image of the Hindu
deity Ganesha which look like an elephant and the face of Buddha appeared in a
natural rock formation can be seen on the face of the mountain behind Nam Thean
Tong.
6. Lumut and Pangkor Island
Lumut is a gateway to
Pangkor Island which located about 90 kilometres east of Ipoh. Lumut which was
previously a fishing village is now made as a naval township. On the other
hand, Pangkor Island which is a popular tourist attraction in Perak is located
about 40 minutes of ferry ride from Lumut Jetty. A blend of white sandy
beaches, variety of seafood, and a Dutch colonial history Tourists of Pangkor
Island plays an important role in Perak’s tourism industry. Tourist would
surely like the Ikan Bilis from Pangkor Island as it is the one of the most
famous local product. Besides, tourist can also try out sun and sea enthusiast
activities such as scuba diving, snorkelling, wind-surfing and fishing at
Pangkor Island’s two most popular beach areas which are Pasir Bogak and Teluk
Nipah. Other than that, tourist can also enjoy watching turtles laying eggs at
Teluk Ketapang or Turtle bay.
How to get there
Other than Ferry, there
are also flights from Berjaya Air which flies 5 times a week from Sultan Abdul
Aziz Shah Airport in Kuala Lumpur to Pangkor Island. Another alternative way is
to take the North-South Expressway heading north towards Perak which exits at
Bidor toll plaza. Signboards are placed along the road from Teluk Intan,
Sitiawan until Pangkor Island.
7. Bukit
Merah Orang Utan Island
This small island is part of the Bukit Merah Laketown resort which is
made purposely to develop detail research on the Orang Utan and also act as a
rehabilitation and breeding centre for this exotic ape. It is located in
Semanggol, Perak. There are approximately 25 to 30 Orang Utans in the Island
which 60% of them are born in the Island. Visitors will be able to come in a
close contact with the Orang Utans during the short tour along the cage-like
pathway into the forested area which will gives them an unforgettable
experience. The entrance ticket cost RM 20 for an adult and RM 17 for a child.
How to get there
It is about 45 minutes drive towards north from Ipoh to Bukit Merah
Laketown Resort. A boat can be taken from the resort to the Orang Utan Island.
8. Taiping Zoo and Night Safari
This is one of the main attraction in Taiping and also the only zoo of
Perak. This 34-acre zoo is also known as the oldest animal park in Malaysia. It
is located within Taiping Lake Garden which is closed to Maxwell Hill. It is
also the house for 180 species of animals and a total of 1300 individuals.
At night, the zoo offers Night Safari which is first of its kind in
Malaysia. Visitors are able to experience the environment which is similar to
wildlife habitats where the sound made by numerous creatures can be heard.
There is also a train in the zoo which takes the visitor around the enclosures.
It cost RM 16 for an adult and RM 8 for a child for the daytime zoo. On the
other hand, the Night Safari cost RM 20 for an adult and RM 10 per child which
includes train rides throughout the zoo.
How to get there
After exiting at Kamunting Toll Plaza at the North South Expressway,
head towards Taiping town center and then follow the direction signs to Lake
Garden. The Zoo is located just opposite a school.
No comments:
Post a Comment