A visit to Ipoh should be high on your list when you’re holidaying in Malaysia. It is full of attractions and is a fabulous place to stop on your way to Penang and the Cameron Highlands from Kuala Lumpur, or as a side trip from Kuala Lumpur – its just a couple of hours drive. The best things to do in Ipoh are connected with nature and the beautiful karst limestone mountains that surround the town – even the amazing Lost World of Tambun theme park is nestled under the mountains, and the incredible cave temples were built into them.
There are so many places to visit in Ipoh you should spend at least three days exploring. If you want to add on a beach stay, then check out Palau Rendang on the west coast or the gorgeous islands in the east – we loved Rawa Island. You can also fly very cheaply from Kuala Lumpur to Borneo and explore, starting with Kota Kinabalu and if you want to continue south of Kuala Lumpur check out the beautiful UNESCO town of Melaka.
Before you go
- Download a VPN to protect your data while using wifi overseas, and so you can watch your shows from home on your devices.
- Make sure you have travel insurance – we use Covermore.
- If you’re nervous, our Safety Guide for traveling overseas is a huge help for planning your trip and traveling safely and confidently.
Getting to Ipoh
FLY: You can fly to Ipoh direct from Singapore with Scoot and Air Asia – it only takes an hour 10 minutes.
DRIVE: We hired a car for five days that we picked up from Kuala Lumpur, but of course you can also collect from the airport. We found the best deal, for around $30 a day including insurance. You can find care hire options here with Klook.
BUS: The bus takes just over three hours and is around $9 AUD. You can find tickets here.
TRAIN: Tickets are around $12 on express trains from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh and it takes about 2.5 hours. There’s free wifi on board and you can buy food too. I would love to take this option one day as traveling through the limestone mountains on a train would be just beautiful. You can find more info and book here.
Where to stay
There’s a lot of accommodation in town from budget through to chain hotels, and you’ll find the best hotels just out of the city surrounded by the stunning limestone mountains.
We stayed at The Haven All Suites Resort and loved it. It is underneath the karst mountains, on a lake and has the most incredible swimming pools. The food is good, the rooms are all suites so there are kitchenette facilities, and it’s only a few minutes out of town.
The Banjaran Hot Springs Retreat – a very fancy natural spa for adults only and looks INCREDIBLE! It’s so beautiful and a definite treat and once in a lifetime experience.
You can also stay at Sunway Lost World Hotel right at the theme park which gives you night time entry to the hot springs park.
You can find budget options for town here – we stayed at the Sakura Hotel for only $26 AUD per night (but it is as cheap as $18 a night – bargain!). It was clean and tidy, we had our own bathroom, and there was parking out the front.
Check out all Ipoh accommodation here.
The best things to do in Ipoh
Gopeng white water rafting and adventure activities
We stoped at Gopeng white water rafting on the way to Ipoh and it was incredible. It takes about 2.1 hours to get to Gopeng, and from Gopeng it’s another hour max into Ipoh, so you can easily stop here on your way. While it’s not technically in Ipoh, these adventure activities are incredible fun and worth the stop.
We went white water rafting with My Gopeng Resort and it was the most fun I’d had in ages. The guides, Ambrose and Wing were really funny and we went down lots of rapids – I fell out a few times (adding to the thrill), but they can make it easier if you have small kids. We stopped for a swim and a drink, and floated down the last section. You can watch my reel on Instagram here.
We really enjoyed My Gopeng Resort – if you’re booking a white water rafting trip make sure you check the distance as this one went for 7km and some others only travel for three which is quite short in comparison.
My Gopeng Resort also offers hiking, waterfall excursions, abseiling and obstacle courses, and you can stay there in little huts.
Explore Tempurang Cave
This is one of the longest caves in Peninsular Malaysia, with huge caverns and a water section where you hold a line and wade through an underground river. You can do different tours here – some just to the first and second sections and taking a couple of hours, and the whole cave experience is about four hours. My Gopeng Resort runs tours with experienced guides.
Hire paddleboats at Kek Lok Tong temple
One of the most fun things you can do in Ipoh I reckon, and it’s very cheap too – just 12 RM for 30 minutes of fun paddling around the moat underneath the soaring limestone mountain. Find it out the back of the incredible Kek Lok Tong temple (worthy of a visit itself), just walk through the gardens to the left. You can also find bikes here too. It’s lots of fun and they provide life jackets. You can watch our reel here.
Address: Kek Lok Tong temple (sometimes known as Kek Look Tong) Pesiaran Sepakat 3, TMN ENDAH JAYA, 31350 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Taski Sermin or Mirror Lake – walk and boat
Hidden in the valley of limestone mountains is the beautiful Mirror Lake, completely secluded until miners from the nearby quarry cut a tunnel through the limestone to access it. It’s a beautiful spot and an adventure to get there, walking through the dark tunnel and emerging to the clear water of the lake, completely surrounded by limestone cliffs and rainforest and reflecting it all.
You will need to drive through the old quarry to get there but it will come up in your maps and it’s signposted. You’ll pay 5RM at the entrance for parking and the blokes there will direct you. Once you’ve parked you will need to pay about 10RM to enter the tunnel and walk through. I don’t mind seeing enterprising people making a small income from this tourism!
Once you get through there is a small platform for photographs – but you cannot swim here. Just enjoy the peace and quiet.
As you drive out look to the left for a boat and lifejackets – it’s not signposted but there is another lake that you access by boat through a water tunnel. It’s 25 RM each. We didn’t have cash so planned to come back the next day, but it rained heavily all night and the following morning so the sites were closed. As the man said, safety first as there is the occasional landslide here in Ipoh after heavy rain.
Address: 31350 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
The Lost World of Tambun
Sunway theme parks are so much fun – if you’ve been to Sunway Lagoon in Kuala Lumpur you’ll know just how great they are – and The Lost World of Tambun is a day trip must to escape the heat and have a fabulous time on rides and slides. It’s just outside Ipoh town and is definitely a day trip to enjoy. When we’ve been there it’s never been crowded so just go and have a fabulous time! The slides and lazy river, and eating at picnic tables with our feet in the water is all so fun.
Read our blog post about the Lost World of Tambun here.
Address: No.1, Persiaran Lagun Sunway 1, Sunway City Ipoh, 31150 Ipoh, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia
Qing Xin Ling Leisure Cultural Village
Qing Xin Ling Leisure and Cultural Village is an amazing place to explore and spend time with your family, and learn more about the Malay culture. It’s a really beautiful spot set underneath the limestone mountains and with two small lakes, but you have to get there early as they only allow 60 people in per day! There’s ample parking at the Village – which you access through a residential area – and you buy tickets there for 20 Rm per person (about $6 AUD). This includes the use of fun tandem bikes to get around or you can choose a rickshaw if someone feels like pulling the other person around. There are lots fun and educational activities, murals, old wares and little pathways around the lakes and up into the mountains with replicas of ancient life. You can also buy little packets of fish food and feed the fishes and hungry terrapins. It’s definitely recommended.
Address: 22A, Persiaran Pinggir Rapat 5a, Taman Saikat, 31350 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Eat all the food
Ipoh is famous for its chicken and bean sprouts and many restaurants make a mean chicken rice – but often served with noodles lol. The guesthouse we stayed at, the Sakura, has a fabulous list of restaurants to try, and there are many dotted around town to drop into.
Check out the Sakura’s list of the best places to eat at in Ipoh here.
Street art at Mural Art’s Lane
Like many Malaysian cities, Ipoh has a lot of fabulous street art. You can find it scattered all over town but there is a particular place where two streets are lined with amazing artworks. It’s called Mural Arts Lane and you can find it in maps and it’s really great for a wander and photo taking. The age of the paintings (2013) and the impact of the weather, as well as the greenery climbing the walls really adds to the beauty and uniqueness of this spot. You can watch our Instagram reel here.
Address: Jalan Masjid, Taman Jubilee, 30300 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Cave Temples
Ipoh is famous for its cave temples and you can find them in the limestone cliffs – they’re absolutely spectacular and filled with artwork, religious artefacts and statues of Buddha. The limestone caves around Ipoh were inhabited by Indigenous people, and after the mid-19th century, Chinese immigrants who arrived to be part of the tin mining boom lived in them, and set up temples and areas of worship. There are around 50 cave temples in the area, both Buddhist and Taoist, and they’re easy to find as they’re all in maps and google maps!
Our favourites are:
Kek Lok Tong – huge cavern and gardens with boating and cycling at the back
Perak Cave Temple – large golden Buddha statues, stairways and passageways and a climb up to the top of the mountain for views of the city.
Ling Sen Tong Temple – our favourite – we love the colour and the statues (especially of Monkey Magic!). You can stop here on the way to Mirror Lake.
If you’re interested in more information about the history of these temples, the paper The Arts and Historical Remains in the Cave Temples in Ipoh, Malaysia by Tan Ai Baoy is a great read.
Concubine Lane
Concubine Lane is somewhat of a tourist attraction in Ipoh – a small lane hosting clothing, gift and food stalls. Its said that back in the day the mining tycoons kept their mistresses here, hence the name. We weren’t really impressed with the laneway as we were expecting local crafts and goods, but it’s a short wander and you can spot some lovely street art too. If you cross the road you’ll find another laneway that curves around Plan B (great for food and coffee) with stalls from local artisans selling pottery, food and trinkets.
Address: Lorong Panglima, Concubine Ln, 30000 Ipoh, Perak
Ipoh railway
Ipoh’s railway opened in 1917 and is a beautiful example of colonial architecture of the time – and known as the Taj Mahal of Ipoh by locals because of its sheer size and grandeur. It’s right in town and near other heritage buildings, and is part of Ipoh’s heritage walk. You can’t enter unless you’re traveling but it’s nice to walk around the outside and imagine the glamour – you can sneak a peak into the old Majestic Hotel and cafe too. It would be incredible to see it brought back to its former splendour. Note the cenotaph at the front of the station commemorating Ipoh’s fallen soldiers. You may also be ablate spot the Ipoh tree from here.
Address: Stesen KTM, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Ipoh Heritage Walk
Riverfront
Grab a coffee from White Coffee here and explore the grounds and the kids playground. There is a water feature here but it wasn’t running while we visited. You can walk down to the riverfront and take the path along it. It’s a really nice little spot with lovely gardens and trees, and of course, the kids playground.
Have a fabulous time!