• Around KL

The biggest attractions around KL are north of the city, where limestone peaks rise up out of the forest and the roads narrow as you pass through small kampungs. There is dramatic scenery as close as 13km from the city, where the Hindu shrine at the Batu Caves attracts enough visitors to make it one of Malaysia's main tourist attractions. Further north, the Orang Asli Museum offers a fascinating insight into the Peninsula's native inhabitants, and the Forest Institute of Malaysia encompasses the nearest portion of primary rainforest to the capital. Southwest of KL, the most alluring place is Klang , Selangor's first capital, location of a fascinating tin museum. Ferries to Sumatra leave from Port Klang, 8km southwest of Klang. A little further north along the coast, Kuala Selangor Nature Park and the fireflies at Kuala Kuantan are worth a visit.

• Chinatown and Little India

East of Merdeka Square, on a promontory at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers, stands KL's most attractive devotional building, the Jamek Mosque . The mosque was completed in 1909, its pink brick walls, arched colonnades, oval cupolas and squat minarets inspired by Moghul architecture. The main entrance is on Jalan Tun Perak.
Bordered by Jalan Tun Perak to the north and Jalan Petaling to the east, Chinatown 's narrow lanes still reveal dilapidated shop-houses and Chinese pharmacies. After 6pm, Jalan Petaling is closed to vehicles and the entire area is transformed into a pasar malam (night market). The area's largest temple, Chan See Shu Yuen stands at the far southern end of Jalan Petaling and displays an ornately painted inner shrine covered in scenes of mythical creatures battling with warriors. The intricately carved roof depicts monumental events in Chinese history and mythology.
KL's main Hindu focus, Sri Maha Mariamman Temple , is also located in the heart of Chinatown, on Jalan Tun HS Lee, between the two main Buddhist temples. First built in 1873, it was radically renovated in the 1960s with a profusion of statues on and around the five-tiered gate tower. The temple is free and always open. One hundred metres due west of Jalan Tun HS Lee lies the Art-Deco Central Market (daily 9am-10pm). Over a hundred stalls here sell everything from textiles to stationery, fine art to tee shirts. On the first floor is one of KL's best food courts, which serves excellent Indian and Malay food.

Just to the north of Chinatown, compact Little India is the commercial centre for KL's Indian community. Turning into Jalan Masjid India from Jalan Tun Perak, it's soon clear you've entered the Tamil part of the city, with poori and samosa vendors and cloth salesmen vying for positions on the crowded streets.

• Chow Kit and Jalan Tun Razak

Two kilometres north of Central Market along Jalan TAR lies Chow Kit , a daily market which sells anything and everything. There are excellent hawker stalls here, a great variety of textiles and clothes, as well as fish, meat and vegetables. Close by on the orbital highway, Jalan Tun Razak, you'll find the National Art Gallery (daily 10am-6pm; free), recently relocated here, which houses a disappointing permanent collection of Malaysian artists alongside temporary exhibitions of fine art and mixed media from a wider net of Southeast Asian artists.

• Colonial District

The small Colonial District is centred on the beautifully tended Merdeka Square on the west bank of the Klang: Malaysian Independence ( merdeka, or freedom) was proclaimed here on August 31, 1957. Nearby, to the south, the National Museum of History (daily 9am-6pm; free), on the corner of Jalan Raja, provides an informative romp through the main points of the nation's history, from the geological formation of the Peninsula to Prime Minister Mahathir's Vision 2020. South along Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, the 35-storey Dayabumi Complex is home to the national oil company, Petronas, which maintains the excellent Galeri Petronas, on the ground floor, displaying contemporary Malaysian art.

Continuing south down Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, you'll see the impressive seventy-metre-high minaret and geometric lattice work of the Masjid Negara , the National Mosque (daily 9am-6pm except Fri 2.45-6pm). To enter, you need to be properly dressed: robes can be borrowed from the desk at the entrance. Behind the mosque on Jalan Perdana is the ultra-modern Museum of Islamic Arts (Tues-Sun 10am-6pm; RM8). This fascinating collection of textiles, metalwork and ancient Korans is a must-see, as it's the first of its type in the world. Check out the calligraphic section, which includes handwritten sections of the Koran, some dating back a thousand years, and many of them intricate and beautiful.

A hundred metres south, the spires, minarets, domes and arches of the 1911 train station is probably the city's most famous building. Ten minutes' walk west along Jalan Damansara brings you to the extensive ethnographic and archeological exhibits of the Muzium Negara , Malaysia's National Museum (daily 9am-6pm; RM1). Alongside dioramas of traditional Malaysian life, from simple kampung (village) activities to elaborate wedding and circumcision ceremonies, you see wayang kulit (shadow play) puppets, kris daggers, and traditional musical instruments.

Once at the National Museum you're only a short walk from the extensive Lake Gardens and the interesting National Planetarium (Tues-Sun 10am-7pm; RM1), where displays illuminate the Islamic origins of astronomy as well as Malaysia's modern-day thrust for the stars. Also in the park, close to the Orchid Garden, you'll find the excellent Bird Park (daily 9am-6pm; RM3),
whose walkways loop around streams to take in the habitats of indigenous species such as hornbills and the Brahminy Kite. There are many entrances into the park, but the main one is a thirty-minute walk due west of Merdeka Square along Jalan Parlimen, or you can take bus #21 or #48 from Jalan Sultan Mohammed.




 

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