Malaysia: Eleven Attractions and Natural Wonders

Two coasts, one country

Malaysia is split by the South China Sea into two halves: Peninsular Malaysia, sharing a border with Thailand and connected to Singapore, and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) on the island of Borneo, home to some of the oldest rainforest on earth. Its roughly 34 million people are a mix of Malay, Chinese, and Indian communities, each with their own festivals, food, and temples, and its modern capital, Kuala Lumpur, sits alongside colonial trading towns, tea- covered highlands, and world-class diving.

The eleven below span the peninsula and Borneo. It is hot and humid year-round; the northeast monsoon, roughly October to March, brings the heavier rains, and the southwest monsoon runs from about May to September.

1. The Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur

The Petronas Towers, completed in 1998 and the world's tallest buildings until 2004 (still the tallest twin towers), anchor Kuala Lumpur's skyline — a César Pelli design drawing on Islamic geometric patterns, with a public sky bridge on the 41st floor and an observation deck on level 86. Around their base, KLCC Park and the Suria KLCC mall give a green, air-conditioned break from the heat.

The best photographs are from the park at dusk, as the towers light up against the sky.

2. Batu Caves

Batu Caves, just north of Kuala Lumpur, is a limestone hill riddled with caves turned into a major Hindu shrine, guarded by a 43-metre golden statue of Lord Murugan — the tallest statue in Malaysia and the second-tallest Murugan statue in the world — at the foot of a rainbow- painted staircase. Macaques scamper on the steps; the main Temple Cave holds shrines beneath a huge natural chamber, and it is the focus of the annual Thaipusam festival, which draws huge crowds.

It lies about 13 km north of central Kuala Lumpur.

3. George Town, Penang

George Town, on the island of Penang, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of shophouses, clan temples, mosques, and colonial buildings reflecting more than 200 years of trade between British, Chinese, Indian, and Malay communities. Since 2012 its lanes have also become an open-air gallery of wire-sculpture and mural street art. It is also famous for its street food, drawing on Malay, Chinese, Indian, Peranakan and Thai cooking.

The old town is compact and best explored slowly, on foot or by trishaw.

4. Kek Lok Si Temple

On a hillside above George Town, Kek Lok Si is Malaysia's largest Buddhist temple complex, its seven-tiered pagoda blending Chinese, Thai, and Burmese architectural styles, with a giant bronze Kuan Yin statue on the hillside above, reached by inclined lifts. It is especially striking during Chinese New Year, when lanterns light the hillside at night.

It is a short drive or bus ride from central George Town.

5. Melaka

Melaka (Malacca), on the strait that gave it centuries of importance as a spice- trade port, layers Malay sultanate, Portuguese, Dutch, and British rule into one small city — a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside George Town. The red Dutch Square, the surviving gateway of the Portuguese fort of A Famosa, Jonker Street's night market, and the distinct Peranakan (Baba-Nyonya) culture and cuisine are the highlights.

It lies south of Kuala Lumpur, a popular day trip or overnight.

6. The Cameron Highlands

The Cameron Highlands, developed as a hill station by the British to escape the lowland heat, sit at between about 800 and 1,600 metres and stay cool year-round — rolling tea plantations (with tastings and viewpoints), vegetable farms and flower nurseries, and patches of ancient mossy montane forest good for short hikes.

The tea estates, especially BOH, are the signature stop and photo.

7. Langkawi

Langkawi, an archipelago of 99 islands off the northwest coast, is a duty-free beach destination with a geological claim to fame — some of its rock is over 500 million years old, the basis for a UNESCO Global Geopark. A cable car climbs to the curved Sky Bridge, suspended over a forested gorge; island- hopping boat trips visit the "Lake of the Pregnant Maiden", and boat tours explore the mangroves of Kilim, home to eagles, otters and macaques.

It has its own international airport and ferry connections from Kuala Perlis and Kuala Kedah on the mainland.

8. Taman Negara

Taman Negara, in the peninsula's interior, protects rainforest estimated at more than 130 million years old — one of the oldest rainforests on earth. A canopy walkway, jungle trekking, river trips, and the climb of Gunung Tahan, the peninsula's highest peak, are the main draws, along with the riverside village of Kuala Tahan as a base.

It is reached by road or a scenic boat trip up the Tembeling river.

9. Mount Kinabalu

Mount Kinabalu, at 4,095 metres, is the highest mountain in Malaysia and on Borneo, and Kinabalu Park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000, holding extraordinary plant diversity, including the giant Nepenthes rajah pitcher plant, found nowhere else. Climbing to the summit for sunrise is a popular two-day trek with an overnight at the mountain huts; summit permits are granted only to climbers who stay there.

The surrounding park also has easier walks through its lower forests.

10. Sipadan

Sipadan, off the coast of Sabah, is celebrated among divers — Malaysia's only oceanic island, rising 600 metres from the seabed, where green and hawksbill turtles mate and nest, barracuda school in tornado-like formations, and big-eye trevally and bumphead parrotfish gather in large shoals. Diver numbers are strictly limited by a daily Sabah Parks permit to protect the reef.

The UK government advises against all but essential travel to islands and dive sites off eastern Sabah because of the threat of kidnapping.

11. Sepilok and Sabah's orangutans

The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, near Sandakan, cares for orphaned and displaced orangutans and returns them to the surrounding forest reserve, with viewing platforms at feeding times; the adjoining Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre does the same for the world's smallest bear species. Nearby, the Kinabatangan river offers boat safaris for wild orangutans, proboscis monkeys, and pygmy elephants along its banks.

Sandakan is the main gateway for this side of Sabah, a short flight from Kota Kinabalu.

Malaysia's two halves are usually treated as separate trips: a peninsula circuit (Kuala Lumpur, Penang, the Cameron Highlands, Melaka, or Langkawi) of a week to 10 days, and a Sabah or Sarawak trip for Borneo's mountains, diving, and wildlife.