Places to see in and around Kuala Lumpur

1. Batu Caves:

Batu Caves

• What to expect: Temple inside a cave; cave conservation project; reptiles museum
• Accessible via: KTM (Seremban-Batu Caves line) -> Station -> Batu Caves, Duration: 30 minutes from KL Sentral, Frequency: 45 minutes
• Ideal time commitment: 1-2 hours if you are climbing up the 300 stairs to the cave temple area or the conservation project area
• Good time to visit: As early as possible as need to climb up stairs.
• Tips: Check the KTM schedule, you can save on the waiting time:
  • Schedule from Batu Caves: https://www.kltransit.my/batu-caves-seremban/
  • Schedule to Batu Caves: https://www.kltransit.my/seremban-to-batu-caves/
• Note: If you are wearing shorts, you will need to hire the covers from the stall at the entrance

2. Little India:

Little India

• What to expect: Here, you can look around for some shopping, have some Indian snacks
• Accessible via: KTM / LRT / Monorail -> Station -> KL Sentral
• Once at the KL Sentral station, take the escalator to NU Sentral mall (it will be on your left-hand side if you are exiting from the KTM and right hand side if you are exiting from the LRT).
• Once at NU Sentral, exit from the opposite side of the mall and you will be in Little India
• If you are travelling via monorail, the exit directly opens in Little India itself
• Ideal time commitment: 1-2 hours or 2-3 hours if you want to have lunch there

3. KL Tower:
• What to expect: Tallest single tower in Malaysia; revolving fine dining restaurant at the topmost floor; observation deck in the floor just below the revolving restaurant
• Accessible via: LRT -> Station -> Dang Wangi, Duration: 10 minutes from KL Sentral, Frequency: 10 minutes
• Ideal time commitment: 30 mins – 1 hour
• Tickets for entrance to the observation deck can be bought from the ground floor

KL Tower

4. Masjid India and Haniffa:
• What to expect: Cheap place for shopping
• Accessible via: LRT -> Station -> Masjid Jamek, Duration: Less than 5 minutes from KL Sentral, Frequency: 10 minutes
• After exiting from the LRT station, walk to your right. The stalls start right from the station exit
• After 2-3 minutes’ walk, lookout for a lane to your right lined up with shops on either side
• There are two shopping centres in the area – Haniffa and Mydin. You can buy cheap perfumes, chocolates, etc. there. I personally recommend Haniffa for buying chocolates
• Ideal time commitment: 2-3 hours

5. Pasar Seni:

Petaling Street

• What to expect: Known to be the China town of Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Street offers a variety of cheap and imitation products to buy from. Here, you will find many people selling 100% “original” products at cheap price. Be rest assured those are 101% duplicates.
• Accessible via: LRT -> Station -> Pasar Seni, Duration: About 2 mins from KL Sentral
• Upon exiting from Pasar Seni, you will hit Central market just on the opposite side of the road. For local handicrafts and batik shopping
• Come out from Central market, towards the LRT and, without crossing the road, turn left. Proceed straight for about 5-10 minutes until you can locate the Petaling Street market on the opposite road, parallel to your trail.
• Ideal time commitment: 2-3 hours
• Note: The shopping stalls starts to open from the evening

6. Petronas twin towers:

Twin Towers

• What to expect: Highest twin tower in the world; public access limit only till the sky bridge; brilliant fountain show at the gardens everyday 7 - 10 pm; shopping mall inside with top branded shops
• Accessible via: LRT -> Station -> KLCC, Duration: 10 minutes from KL Sentral
• Ideal time commitment: 30 mins - 1 hour
• If you want to buy tickets to sky bridge entry, they can be bought at the counter for 80 RM. Please note the queue can be huge so you might consider buying in advance if you want and adjust your visiting time accordingly
• Good time to visit: Try to visit the fountain area after nightfall as the towers start to lit up. Also, they host musical fountains for public 7 pm onwards.

Fountain Show

7. National mosque:
• Accessible via: KTM -> Station -> Kuala Lumpur, Duration: 5 minutes from KL Sentral
• After exiting from the KTM station, follow the direction signs to the subway that finally opens to the Masjid Negara or the National mosque. Visiting hours for Non-Muslims are as follows:
  • Fridays: 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm; 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
  • Other days: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm; 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm; 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
• Ideal time commitment: 30 mins – 1 hour
• Note: If you are wearing sleeveless dress or dresses above knee length, you will need to wear the robe and (for females) the scarf or hijab
• Good time to visit: Try to visit by 9:00 am so that you can explore the nearby parks and gardens comfortably under less heat

8. Parks and gardens:



Beautiful tree lined trail to the gardens and parks

• Exiting from the National mosque, you will find a tree shaded road winding upwards
• 10 minutes’ walk uphill, you will reach the Planetarium
• 10 minutes’ further walk will be the KL Bird park. Bird park entry fees is RM 67 for adults RM 45 for children (they go by physical age, we are evergreen at heart)
• Just opposite to the Bird park is the Orchid garden. Entry fees is RM 1, although there is generally nobody at the counter to take the fees.
• 10 minutes further walk from the Bird park / Orchid garden, and you will reach the Botanical gardens.
• Tired of walking? You can hire the buggy that will show you around the gardens for RM2 (I took the service in 2013, so I am not sure of the latest pricing)
• If you are not already tired of walking, you may walk 20 minutes further down to the Merdaka square, or get into a taxi
• The huge building that you see at the merdaka square, with the brown dome and clock, is one of the iconic buildings of Kuala Lumpur, the Sultan Abdul Samad building.
• Ideal time commitment: 5-6 hours

Abdul Samad building

9. Kuala Lumpur city gallery:

Kuala Lumpur City Gallery

• What to expect: Tourist information centre with a collection of paintings and photos of the history of Kuala Lumpur; it also has small imitations of famous city landmarks; I love KL sign; Set in a 100 plus years old, colonial-style building, this free museum has its wall depicting timeline chronicling Kuala Lumpur’s history.
• Just next to Dataran Merdaka

10. Royal museum:
• What to expect: Former residence of the King of Malaysia, converted into the Royal Museum in 2013.
• Accessible via: Taxi

11. National textiles museum:
• What to expect: A unique collection of clothing, accessories and textiles. The museum has four main galleries.
• A few minutes’ walk from Kuala Lumpur city gallery

12. National museum:
• Situated near the Perdana Lake Gardens this museum provides an overview of Malaysian history and culture.

13. KLCC aquarium:

KLCC Aquarium

• What to expect: You stand on the moving belt and it takes you around. If you want to stop somewhere, you can hop off the belt onto the side deck and hop back on whenever you want; special attraction is the shark and the piranha
• Accessible via: LRT -> Station -> KLCC, Duration: 10 minutes from KL Sentral, Frequency: 10 minutes
• Ideal time commitment: 1-2 hours
• Entry fees: RM 64 for adults, RM 53 for children, RM 43 for senior citizen (they go by physical age, we are evergreen at heart)
• It is inside the LRT station itself, you can ask the information counter for directions
• Checkout their website to know about the different activity schedule so that you may plan your visit accordingly: http://aquariaklcc.com/

14. Times square mall:
• What to expect: Good and cheap shopping
• Accessible via: Monorail -> Station -> Bukit Bintang, Duration: 15 minutes from KL Sentral
• Ideal time commitment: 2-3 hours
• Note: Most of the shops close by 9:30pm, so you need to work out on your timing accordingly

15. Blue mosque:

Blue Mosque

• What to expect: The country's largest mosque and the second largest in South East Asia; the mosque has free guided tour, so you can opt for one
• Accessible via: KTM (Rawang-Port Klang Line) -> Station -> Shah Alam, Duration: 45 minutes from KL Sentral, Frequency: 45 minutes
• Ideal time commitment: 30 mins - 1 hour
• Upon exit from the LRT station, look for a taxi to the Blue mosque. For return, you can ask the mosque officials (who are very helpful) to assist you in booking a taxi
• Note on the timings (it takes about 30 minutes from the KTM station to reach the mosque, so plan accordingly):
  • Monday-Thursday: 9:00AM-12:00PM, 2:00PM-4:00PM
  • Friday: Open ONLY to Muslim for Prayer
  • Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays: 9:00AM-12:00PM, 2:00PM-4:00PM, 5:00PM-6:30PM
• Note: If you are wearing sleeveless dress or dresses above knee length, you will need to wear the robe and (for females) the scarf or hijab

16. I-city:
• What to expect: Theme parks; entertainment rides; four season themes; celebrity museum; ice world; water park
• Accessible via: taxi from the KTM station or the Blue mosque
• Ideal time commitment: 4-5 hours, or 1 full day if you want to explore all the theme parks
• Most of the attractions are open until 1 am on Saturdays and 12 am for the rest of the days
• Note: Try to take phone numbers of a few taxi drivers or get the taxi booking apps ready in your phone before you plan here as the return taxis are not readily available from this area to Kuala Lumpur. Make the return arrangement BEFORE you come to I-city. Worst case, if you are stranded without any options, walk to the main road (that is a bit of walking) and try to catch a taxi (they might haggle so you need to be prepared)

17. Experience the KL nightlife:
• There are 5-6 major areas to enjoy the nightlife in and around KL. Here is a list: http://thenewvisitortothecity.blogspot.my/2017/04/nightlife-in-kuala-lumpur.html
• Ideal time commitment: We do not commit time for this, do we?
• Note: Some of the night clubs have dress codes (mostly for men) which include no singlets, shorts or thongs/flip flops