What kind of vacation are you looking for? Do you enjoy the outdoor adventure of hiking in the heart of Malaysia’s tropical jungle, meeting the friendly locals and visiting British heritage buildings in a laid-back tropical town, away from the hassles of the big city? If yes, then Kuala Lipis has this to offer.
Kuala Lipis is located in the center of the Malaysian peninsula, about 200 km from Kuala Lumpur. It is surrounded by lush green hills and dense tropical jungles. It is gaining popularity as a tourist destination for local and foreign visitors. As the state capital between 1800 and the mid-1900s, it has a number of historic buildings left behind by the colonial British. These buildings are in good condition and are still in use today. The town is accessible by road. The public bus ride will take about three hours. The service is regular with around six a day frequency.
The following are some of the tour activities:
1. Discovery Walk: As it is a small town, the attractions are easily accessible. You can start the walking tour from the train station. It was the largest on the east coast and managed the entire railway operation from Kota Baru in Kelantan to Gemas in Negeri Sembilan. During the heyday of the railway, it was the main mode of transportation, bringing travelers from Kelantan to Kuala Lumpur via Kuala Lipis.
About a five-minute walk from the station is the old state mosque. It was built in 1888 by a merchant from Yemen. It has a touch of Indonesian architecture with local taste. The mosque is no longer used as a place of congregational prayer. Next to the train station is the post office, built by the British. It is designed in symmetry despite being over 150 years old, still in good condition. Right outside the post office you can see a milestone with ‘0’ miles etched on it. The simple milestone had raised a lot of questions as it is not normal to have 0 miles marked on the mileage stone.
There are about 14 buildings listed as historic buildings by the Malaysian Ministry of Heritage and Culture. The other famous building is The Pahang Club. It’s a bit far, about 20 minutes walk. From the train station, turn right; past the post office and the train track towards the hospital. Pahang Club was the residence of Hugh Clifford before the best house for permanent residents was built. Pahang Club was the club for the rich and powerful Brits before it was opened to locals.
2. Visit to the Park and Walk through the Jungle. Visitors who enjoy the beauty of nature, Kuala Lipis has much to offer. The surrounding reserved forest, undisturbed by humans since time of eternity, is a natural habitat for a variety of wildlife and exotic plants. The waterfalls and rapids, the limestone caves and the green mountains will provide enough hiking activities for adventurous visitors.
The tropical forest is about 1 million years old, and had not been exploited before. Among the best-known parks is the Kenong Jungle Park, with a virgin and intact forest of 130 million years. Visitors will have the opportunity to see the formation of more than 20 lime caves that served as a base for nationalist groups fighting against the British occupation. At a distance of 32 km from Kuala Lipis, the park is easily accessible by rail and boat from Kuala Lipis. There are an estimated 1,200 plant species, which is about 13% of the number of plants in Malaysia.
A short distance from Kuala Lipis is the National Park (Taman Negara). It is recommended that a visitor spend at least one night in the park. The night trek will give visitors the opportunity to see nocturnal animals roaming and feeding in their natural environment. In addition to this, the park offers outdoor activities such as repelling, climbing trees with ropes, and walking on the treetops about 20 meters above the ground.