Ipoh is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Perak, it is the fourth largest city in Malaysia by population. Ipoh’s location between Kuala Lumpur and Penang has made it a major land transportation hub within West Malaysia, with both the Malayan Railway’s West Coast Line and the North-South Expressway cutting through the city. It has become the must-stop spot for commuters and visitors travelling between Kuala Lumpur and Penang for its famous cuisine and white coffee, which has gained its international reputation in recent years.

Make sure you don’t miss the Ipoh White Coffee and the Kaya Butter Toast when you are there, you are going to regret it if you do. 

Apart from its cuisine & white coffee, the city is also well-known for its natural attractions, such as its limestone hills, caves & lakes. In addition, Ipoh has managed to maintain its reputation as one of the cleanest cities in Malaysia and Asia in general.

The Natural Attractions in Ipoh

“ Gua Tempurung (Tempurung Cave) ”

If you have never attempted caving before, Gua Tempurung is definitely a good start for you to experience it. As long as you are reasonably fit, you can definitely do it and trust me, it is going to be an experience you will never forget. Go explore this gigantic cave in Perak, Malaysia and you will be blown away by its beauty, I assure you that. It is another world inside, go see it for yourself! 

Gua Tempurung, located 25 km south of Ipoh near Gopeng, driving time is about 35 minutes from Ipoh centre, is probably the largest cave in Peninsula Malaysia and has plenty to attract the serious caving enthusiast, the adventure seeker or just the casual visitor.

There are lighting and platforms which were built on the initial part of the cave, enabling you to walk at ease. If you are more adventurous, there are options for you to explore deeper into the cave depending on which tour you choose. Inside, you will see many impressive stalagmites (mineral formation that grows from the ground upwards) and stalactites (mineral formation that grows from the top of the cave). A 1.6 km river passage flows underneath the caves running through the hill. The water is crystal clear and is still unpolluted in this part of the world.

The cave complex comprises of 5 giant domes, namely Golden Flowstone Cavern, Gergasi (Giant) Cavern, Tin Mine Cavern, Alam (Universe) Cavern & Battlefield Cavern.

The cave is home to bats especially during the mating season from March to May. Their droppings have created bat guano artworks on some of the dome ceilings, but also beware of the handle while you are walking on the walkways as there might be some bat droppings too. Just watch out!

The Gua Tempurung Tours:

The operation hours of the cave is from 9:00am to 5:00pm everyday. The management company, APT Consortium, offers 4 different tours:

• Tour 1 – Golden Flowstone (DRY TOUR)

Duration: 40 minutes
Difficulty Level: Easy
Tour Time: From 9am to 4pm (last tour starts at 4pm)
Cost: Adult RM 20, Child RM 10 (age 6 -12), Senior Citizen RM 10 (age 60+)
MyKad Rate: Adult 8, Child & Senior Citizen RM 4

This is a dry walk along concrete pathways and steel staircases as far as the Golden Flowstone cavern (as far as Platform 3). Plenty of viewing galleries to admire the amazing rock formations. No guide required.

• Tour 2 – Top of the World (DRY TOUR)

Duration: 1 hour 45 mins
Difficulty Level: Slightly Strenuous
Tour Time: From 9am. Last tour starts 3pm
Cost: Adult RM 30, Child & Senior Citizen RM 15
MyKad Rate: Adult RM 12, Child & Senior Citizen RM 6

This is also a dry walk but continues to cover all 5 domes (up to Platform 5). More strenuous with many more steps to climb. No guide required.

• Tour 3 – Top of the World & Short River Adventure (WET TOUR)

Duration: 3 hours 30 mins
Difficulty Level: Exciting & Challenging
Tour Time: From 9am, last tour starts at 12 noon
Cost: Adult RM 40, Child & Senior Citizen RM 20
MyKad Rate: Adult RM 15, Child & Senior Citizen RM 7.50

(Minimum No. of Participants: 8)

Participants will get wet as part of the return journey involves wading in the underground river. This is a ranger-guided tour.

• Tour 4 – Grand Tour (WET TOUR)

Duration: 4 hours 30 mins
Difficulty Level: Challenging and Strenuous
Tour Time: From 9am, last tour starts at 11am
Cost: Adult RM 50, Child & Senior Citizen RM 25
MyKad Rate: Adult RM 30, Child & Senior Citizen RM 15

(Minimum No. of Participants: 8)

The full Gua Tempurung caving experience. This tour covers all 5 caverns and reaching the eastern side of the cave facing the North-South Expressway. The return journey is by underground river, including sliding down the water. This is a ranger-guided tour.

The Wet River Adventure Tours’ (Tours 3 & 4) availability is subject to weather conditions.

For booking enquiry, contact/ whatsapp +6014-220 4142
OR by email: aptguatempurung@gmail.com

What to Prepare:

For Dry Tours (Tour 1 & 2), dress comfortably with a good sports/ hiking shoe as there will be a lot of walking and steps climbing. Bring sufficient drinking water (500ml – 1L) and your camera to take pictures in the cave. 

For Wet Tours (Tour 3 & 4), dress comfortably, preferably a dry-fit T-shirt, hiking shoe or even a rubber shoe with socks as you will be walking in the water. Gloves and kneepads are recommended. Bring sufficient drinking water (1L) and a waterproof camera, you will also need a small waterproof backpack to store your belongings. Helmet will be provided and headlamp is available for rent at only RM 5.

There are shower facility and changing area at the entrance of Gua Tempurung, you can bring your towel and clean clothes to change after your exploration.

My Caving Experience:

For a full experience of this impressive Malaysian Cave, I would suggest that you spend 2 days taking 2 different tours to visit Gua Tempurung. A cave at this scale, it totally deserves more of your time to admire its beauty, understand its formation and experience it fully. 

On day 1, I took “Tour 2 – Top of the World”, it is a dry tour, and since it is a self-guided tour, I could take my own time to take pictures of the domes, stalactites and stalagmites. I was able to observe thoroughly every part of it. For Tour 2, you could go as far as the walkways and lighting finish, on platform 5. That’s where you almost reach the ceiling of the cave, you are on the Top of the World. 

Beyond platform 5, there will be no more lighting as you will go further and deeper into the cave, that’s for Tour 3 & Tour 4, which are both wet tours, a guide is needed. 

After reaching platform 5, the highest point of the cave, you will make the same way back to the entrance. 

On day 2, I took “Tour 4 – Grand Tour”, this is a wet tour, a ranger-guided tour. For this tour, you will need to have a minimum of 6-8 participants. We started at 0930 and finished at around 1400. 

This wet tour is thrilling, the first part of the tour is dry tour and our guide explained us more in details on how the stalactites and stalagmites were formed and grown, the peculiar shapes of the formations, the history of Gua Tempurung and some other facts about it. 

Since this is a wet tour and you are required to go together in your group for safety purpose, you will have less time to admire and take pictures of what you see inside. This is the reason why I advised you to do a dry tour on day 1.  On day 2, you can truly enjoy the thrilling and wet caving experience.

After platform 5, that’s when the real fun begins. From the “Top of the World”, you will slowly descend into the darkness, that’s when you have to turn on your headlamp. Stay close with your group and open up all your senses! 

From this point, you follow exactly where your guide tells you. Your destination is to exit the cave on the other side facing the North-South Expressway. You will see spiders as big as your fist. As long as we don’t stay too close to it, there’s nothing to worry about. Your guide is there to ensure your safety!

After less than 2 km of walking and scrambling in the dark, you’ll finally see some sunlight, you know you are getting out of the cave on the other side soon. The guide will let you take a break and you can take some nice pictures there. 

On return journey, you will be walking on the river passage all the way back to the entrance where you started. This is when you will get very wet, not only you will walk in the water up to the knee level, at some parts, you are required to crawl in the water passing through a narrow space, and also sliding down into the water.

I had so much fun and I find this caving experience so enriching. Will I do it again? Hell yeah ….

 “ Kek Lok Tong ”

Located around 8 km away from Ipoh centre, about 15 mins driving time, Kek Lok Tong, or the Cave of Eternal Happiness is a cave temple and a popular tourist attraction nestled in the natural and picturesque area of Gunung Rapat in the south of Ipoh. This cave temple sits on a 12 acres site and was used as early as 1920 as a place of worship. In 1960, the cave became part of an iron mining site. After a decade, the iron mining stopped and worship at the temple resumed.

The Kek Lok Tong complex comprises of a central altar featuring a number of Buddhist figures as well as various deities of the Chinese pantheon. The most unique feature of the cave is the beautiful garden view once you walk to the other side of the cave. 

The floor of the cave has been levelled and paved and much of the lower walls are lined with marble tiles. The ceiling and upper walls however remained in their natural state with some impressive stalactite formations.

Kek Lok Tong is not a big cave, do expect to spend about 1-2 hours for your visit, including a walk at the garden with small lakes.

At the entrance of Kek Lok Tong, there is a big pond with fishes and a Kuan Yin Statue, the Goddess of Mercy, it symbolises compassion. She is an all-seeing, all-hearing being who is called upon by worshipers in times of uncertainty, despair, and fear.

Benches have been installed together with railings and staircases, this allow visitors to easily walk around and take a closer look at this beautiful cave temple. At some part, you will get very close to the ceiling and the stalactites, it is just breathtaking looking and touching this natural formation that takes hundreds and thousands of years to form. 

Being a spacious cavern with large openings at both ends, it receives generous amount of natural lighting and refreshing breeze blowing through the cave. Visitors enjoy the airy and cool atmosphere, while admiring the cave and the natural surrounding, they are accompanied by a number of metal Buddhist and Taoist statues. It’s definitely a place to get your Zen moment!

Exiting the cave to the other side, there’s a beautiful garden with small lakes. You can take a stroll around the garden, you will see more Buddhist and Taoist statues. 

You can also take a paddle boat ride in the river around Kek Lok Tong or rent a bicycle at a very reasonable price. 

The entrance fee to Kek Lok Tong is FREE, there is a donation booth if you would like to make your contribution for them to maintain and upkeep this beautiful cave temple. The opening hours is daily from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm. 

 

 “ Tasik Cermin (The Mirror Lake) ”

Literally translated as “Mirror Lake”, Tasik Cermin is a pristine oasis that’s mysteriously tucked deep within one of the clusters of limestone hills in Ipoh. The lake’s glassy reflection of the hills is how it got its name. If you don’t already know, these limestone hills around the region have earned the city the nickname, “Guilin of Malaysia”!

Located around Gunung Rapat too like Kek Lok Tong & Qing Xin Ling Leisure & Cultural Village, you can combine your visit to these 3 places in one day. They are very close to one another and each of these places has their own charm that are worth your visit.

If you are a nature lover, you are going to love Tasik Cermin, although the area of visit is rather small, but the lake view and the surrounding is surreal. Close your eyes, enjoy the moment of silence, listen to the birds and the sounds of nature, feel the serenity. It is rejuvenating! 

A small steel platform was built by the lake, it is the iconic photo spot of this beautiful lake. Do be very careful though if you are standing on the platform as the structure is not very stable.

The entrance fee is RM 2 (it was free before) for Tasik Cermin, and you have to pay RM 5 for the unofficial parking. When you see an abandoned house, you are on the right place. The opening hours is from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm.

Before getting to the lake, first you have to walk through a 50 metres tunnel. Once you get closer to the end of the tunnel, the beautiful scenery reveals itself and the placid waters of Tasik Cermin give a reflective effect to its beautiful surrounding, truly living up to its name. 

After visiting Tasik Cermin, before leaving the place, there’s a small cave nearby, it’s called Gua Ular (Snake Cave), you might want to check it out. 

 

 “ Qing Xin Ling Leisure & Cultural Village ”

As mentioned earlier, Qing Xin Ling is also situated around Gunung Rapat, like Kek Lok Tong & Tasik Cermin. “Serene Hill” is the direct translation from the name of this beautiful gorge & cultural village.

Qing Xin Ling lives up to its name by incorporating the beauty of natural surrounding while taking you back in time. This village is set in a location captivated by magnificent landscapes of limestone hills, valley, lake & fish pond. Colourful cottages were built around the lake decorated with antiques. You will see big tv boxes, video tape players, jukebox, old furnitures, and many more. The village is filled with nostalgic paraphernalia, every corner you go and you will find great photo spots for your instagram and social media feeds. 

As soon as I stepped into the village, I instantly felt like I was traveling back to old times (the 60s, 70s & 80s). As a Millennials, I grew up watching VHS tapes & listening to cassette tapes. I still remember rewinding the tapes take forever, it was painful to wait, still it was one of my great childhood memories. 

Qing Xin Ling is known for its Guilin-like picturesque views, for a moment I thought I was in China.

Climb up the hill through a gorge called Memory Lane, it is a ‘street’ that is lined with ‘shops’ that reminisce about the nostalgic past. 

The opening hours of Qing Xin Ling is from Monday to Saturday, 9:30 am until 5:00 pm, the entrance ticket is RM 10, with this price you can ride on any of the bicycles/ tandem bikes & quadricycles for free around the compound. Expect your visit of around 1-2 hours here. 

 

“ Gunung Lang ”

Gunung Lang, or the Lang Mountain is a favourite spot for the locals to hangout and enjoy the beautiful surrounding of the limestone hills. Apart from its picturesque backdrop, it has many attractions & recreational facilities.

You will see a man-made cascading waterfall atop a limestone hill, a big turquoise lake with a variety of freshwater fish species, a 2 km boardwalk over the swamp, lookout towers, traditional Malay houses, children playground, campsites, etc. There is a string of recreational activities one can indulge in, such as fishing, canoeing, caving, jungle trekking and camping.

The park was developed with minimum physical structures to minimise the impact it has on the surrounding flora and fauna, in line with eco tourism concept.

You can take a scenic boat ride from the entrance to the park where you will see animals like monkeys, deers, peacocks, etc. The boat ride takes about 8 minutes and you pay only RM 3 for going and return, the boat runs every half an hour. 

Upon entering the Gunung Lang Recreational Park, you’re transported to a natural wonderland, a place you will have close encounters with the nature and animals. Try to go in the early morning or late afternoon to avoid the heat.

The entrance fee to Gunung Lang is FREE, and the opening hours is from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm daily. 

 

Where to Stay in Ipoh

There are plenty of accommodation choices in Ipoh especially in the old town area where you can have direct access to the attractions, restaurants and cafes. But if you are looking for a unique experience with the nature, staying away from the hustle and bustle of the city, you definitely have to consider Xscape Tambun. 

Located around 20 mins drive away, 10 km distance from Ipoh centre, Xscape Tambun is a hidden gem nestled right by the limestone formations, covered in lush greenery. This resort is a wonderful place for you to unwind and enjoy some fun outdoor activities. As a resort guest, you can ride the bicycle for free and explore around the area with the breathtaking backdrop of the limestone hills, lakes and beautiful residential houses. It is a very relaxing activity to do after checking in your room.

Beside cycling, you can also join the Cave Exploring Tour, Limestone Hill Climbing and Flying Fox (zipline), organised by the resort. In-house guests will enjoy a special rate.

All the rooms are comfortably furnished and equipped with necessities like air-conditioning, hot shower, hair-dryer, electric kettle and more.

You may book your stay at Xscape Tambun from agoda.com or booking.com

If you are just interested in the activities, you may book your tour from klook.com

Xscape Tambun Address: