Ipoh is, at first glance, a non-touristy city, located somewhere in the western part of the Malay Peninsula. Once a mining town producing tin, now forgotten due to the drop in prices and the collapse of the market for this raw material. In fact, this area is not among the most popular places in Malaysia. It doesn’t mean, that it’s not worth visiting, even for a moment. Against to appearances, Ipoh has some cool attractions 🙂
Ipoh has one big advantage – location. The city is picturesquely located on the Kinta River, between Penang and Cameron Highlands, two insanely touristic destinations in Malaysia. It will not be an exaggeration to say that these are two must-see destinations during your stay on Malaysia. It would seem that Ipoh sees this as an opportunity to join the group of top tourist destinations in Malaysia. And that’s good, because he has conditions.
*1 EUR ~4,50 PLN
*1 EUR ~0,20 MYR
Ipoh – how to get there?
We can get from George Town to Ipoh without any problems. The route is around 150 km and according to the maps, it should take about two hours. It’s rather wishful thinking if we decide to travel by bus, because the journey took us almost four hours.
We booked the bus via the 12go.asia website (like most transport during travel) three days before the planned departure. We used the services of CS Travel and I must admit that it was a good decision. It turned out that it was probably our most comfortable transport since the beginning of our journey through Asia. And for only 28 PLN per person! (6,22 EUR). The bus had wide, reclining seats with footrests, so we felt a bit of luxury while driving ;). If we are heading to Ipoh from Cameron Highlands, we can also use the services of this company.
The bus stops at AmanJaya Ipoh Bus Station, which is located on the outskirts of the city. Telling the truth, the layout of this city was very specific to me. Apart from the very center, I had the impression that the rest of it was spread out between mountains, parks and other green areas. Driving towards the center from the bus station, I had the impression that we were leaving the city, not approaching it.
The easiest way to get from the station to the center is with Grab, an Asian Uber/Bolt. The price to the city center should be around 11-15 MYR. In Ipoh, unlike George Town or Cameron Highlands, you will not find major traffic jams. It is a quiet and rather sleepy city (even though it has over half a million inhabitants), which means that there is no risk of price spikes caused by road disruptions.
Where to stay overnight?
I would like to recommend our accommodation, but I won’t, because my conscience simply won’t let me. If someone decides to stay at Star Villa Kinta, I do not recommend it. You will read more about why I do not recommend this place in a separate post about all accommodations.
Since it’s a city, I recommend looking for accommodation close to the center. There you will find pubs, an atmospheric market and several historic buildings. The accommodation base in Ipoh is well developed, so you shouldn’t have much trouble booking a hotel.
*When staying in a hotel, hostel or any other accommodation facility, you are obliged to pay „tourist tax”, which will be added to your accommodation bill. For each day in Malaysia, you will pay from 2.5 to even 20 Malaysian ringgit. The price depends on the standard of accommodation. If you choose more expensive accommodation, expect to pay a higher fee. Tax is not always included in the final price on booking sites. In the end, you may have to pay more than the website showed you.
Attractions in and around Ipoh
Street Art and the Architecture of the City – main attractions in Ipoh
The city is clearly competing with street art in George Town. We will find plenty of murals hidden in the city streets, on older and newer buildings, in the center and on its outskirts. Zacharevic, a previously well-known artist from George Town, mentioned when describing this city, also had his share. At the request of the Old Town White Coffee coffeshops, he was to create seven murals with coffee as their leitmotif.
Some of the murals are „interactive”. It means that you can pose against their background, blending in with the art and becoming part of it. At the Tourist Information in Ipoh you will get a map with marked locations where to look for murals. Most can be found on Mural Art’s Lane. We discovered some of them on our own while walking around the city. If you want to get to know street art in detail, it is worth using a map.
I found many opinions according to which Ipoh currently has the most interesting street art in Malaysia. There is more of it on city streets and it’s in better condition than the one in George Town. In George Town, some of the murals are practically invisible or damaged – Ipoh has fresher and happier paintings.
In addition to street art, admire the colonial buildings in the center – the market square is full of atmospheric streets, pleasant pubs and street food. As your walk downtown, take 5 minutes to visit:
- Birch Memorial Clock Tower,
- Ipoh Railway Station,
- Concubine Lane (a popular street with street food and shops)
Mirror Lake (Tasik Cermin)
Mirror Lake is a lake hidden in the limestone mountains, which reflects all the spectacular greenery growing on the mountains. The calm surface of the water, which is occasionally disturbed by floating boats, creates a wonderful, soothing landscape.
To get to the mirror lake, it is definitely best to order a Grab. We paid 15 MYR for transport from our hostel, (about 3 EUR) and the route took 15-20 minutes. It stops right at the ticket gate, where Grab has its pick-up station. Next to the main attraction, which is undoubtedly the mirror lake, there are also other, slightly less spectacular, but also worth visiting attractions.
To see the lake you need to buy tickets. Than, you have to go through the cave, to get to the lake. The lake is surrounded by karst formations on all sides and the only way to get there is to go through an artificial tunnel. The ticket price for a tourist will be 8 MYR (around 1,61 EUR). It’s good to know, that the entire area around the lake was once a quarry. Due to its natural values, measures were taken to protect the site from further exploitation. You can buy a boat trip for an additional 25 MYR (around 5 EUR) and take a closer look at the limestone hills.
As an interesting fact, it is worth adding that Mirror Lake is located in the so-called Gunung Rapat. It’s a complex of hills that is a meeting point of many religions, including Hinduism and Taoism. Among the hills, there are more natural and artificial lakes.
Apart from the lake, you can walk through a stone valley covered with lush greenery, visit a snake cave and relax in a cafeshop.
Kek Look Tong Temple
Kek Look Tong is the most popular Buddhist temple in the Ipoh area. Its popularity is due to its location. The temple is located in a huge, several-story cave, full of spectacular limestone formations. Inside you will find several altars, sculptures and statues of Buddha, integrated into the natural shape of the cave. The walk is not demanding, so every person (even the less fit) should be able to cope with the challenge. I will add that the temperature inside the cave is much nicer than outside, and there are vending machines with drinks at the entrance.
Walking through the entire temple, you’ll find the back exit, leading to the garden overlooking the lake. The whole thing is fenced by the mountains, like most attractions in this area. A path with accompanying sculptures of deities leads us through the garden. You can also meet monkeys outside, so as always – I recommend caution! You never know when a monkey will like something of yours ;).
The whole thing is quite impressive, and the advantage of the facility is the fact that it is completely free. If you really want to spend a few ringgits, you can rent a tandem bike or a pedal boat and ride the river around the garden. However, I definitely recommend walking. The tourists are dominated by Asian families with children. The’are not afraid of crowds even on a narrow, short river, but walking is something they do not like.
*There are at least two cave temples in the area – Perak Cave and Sam Poh Tong. Kek Took Tong is definitely the most popular one.
Qing Xin Ling Leisure & Cultural Village
I will be completely honest – we went to this place and for a long time we didn’t know what we were actually seeing. I found information that this is a popular place among tourists. After visiting the temple, without much hesitation, we took Grab to the ticket counter. We paid 20 MYR per person for admission tickets (4 EUR). So we went in. On one side someone is feeding the fish, on the other someone is visiting reconstructions of ancient houses. Further away someone is admiring antique household equipment and antiques, and even further away someone is posing by dummy dinosaurs. In one word, a mixture of everything in beautiful natural surroundings.
Qing Xin Ling Leisure & Cultural Village is a place aimed mainly at Malaysian citizens of Chinese origin. A place where the main theme seems to be their culture and heritage. A European will probably consider it a kitsch and tacky park for families with children. For people familiar with the culture presented there, it will be a return to the past combined with nostalgia and sentiment.
If you are not passionate about Malaysian culture and history, let it go. You’ll save time and money. Instead, I suggest a slightly farther, but certainly more spectacular tour of Gua Tempurung Cave. We, unfortunately, did not have time to visit the cave.
Gunung Lang Recreational Park
A very large recreational park, fenced on almost all sides by limestone hills. Admission to the park itself is free, but if you want to get to the main part of the park, you have to use a boat. The ticket cost is only 3 MYR per person, but we did not take advantage of the offer. When we arrived, there was a break in the boat service. We would have to wait over an hour for the next one.
We didn’t want to waste time, so we had an idea that seemed good to us for that moment. So, we found a side path on the map that was supposed to lead to our destination through the natural fence of the park. To get to the path, you had to leave the park and walk about 15 minutes down the street. We realized after a while that this was a bad idea, because everything happened in forty-degree heat. Ultimately, we walked for a good half an hour to find out that the path actually exists, but the passage is closed. We didn’t visit the park, but we spent very active time around the park.
Other attractions in Ipoh
- Mosque Masjid Negeri Perak,
- Tambun Pomelo GoChin Agro Farm – Ipoh is famous for its Pomelo, so if you want to learn more about this fruit, visit the farm!
- Lost World of Tambun Theme Park – great amusement park,
- Kinta Riverwalk – an evening walk by the river is a nice end to the day,
- Gua Tambun – A cave containing prehistoric rock paintings. An unpopular and neglected attraction, but very interesting for history fans.
Summary attractions in Ipoh
You have to see
- City center and Street Art ( clocktower, train station, Concubine Lane, Mural Art’s Lane)
- Mirror Lake
- Kek Look Tong Temple
- Gua Tempurung
If you have time, I encourage you to visit Gunung Lang Recreational Park. I advise against visiting Qing Xin Ling Leisure & Cultural Village, because it is not a place that an ordinary European will appreciate.
If you are planning a trip to Ipoh straight from George Town, be sure to check out what Penang Island has to offer by clicking here.
Remember when you are in Malaysia
- GRAB, the Asian replacement for Uber/Bolt, operates in the country. In Ipoh, we can easily book a ride, without worrying about price fluctuations caused by road disruptions.
- Malaysia is a majority Muslim country. In tourist places there is much greater tolerance for women’s clothing, but for your own comfort it is better not to reveal too much.
- I advise you to always check ticket prices twice. In Malaysia, virtually every tourist attraction has two prices. One is for Malaysian citizens (holders of a Malaysian ID card) and second for tourists. This higher fee will always be for the tourist.
