The Southeast Asian country of Malaysia consists of many islands, including the northwestern portion of Borneo, Asia’s largest Island.
There are many beautiful places in Malaysia and we’ll show you just a few in this article, along with some fun things to do in Malaysia and some of the best places to visit in Malaysia.
So if you want to know what to do in Malaysia, read on!
4 Beautiful Places in Malaysia to Visit and Fun Things to Do in Malaysia
We’ve picked four beautiful places to visit in Malaysia, which would be perfect for a one week holiday. They are –
* Miri in the state of Sarawak on Borneo
* Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, in the state of Selangor
* Genting Highlands in the states of Selangor and Pahang
* Johor Bahru, the capital of the southern state of Johor
Some of the fun things to do in these areas include visiting theme parks, hiking through rainforests and to waterfalls, enjoying some amazing views and visiting cave temples.
Beautiful Places in Malaysia – Miri in Borneo: One of the Best Places to Visit in Malaysia
Miri is a 2 hour flight from Kuala Lumpur. It is located in the state of Sarawak on Borneo.
If you’re entering Malaysia by air from overseas, you will need to transit through Kuala Lumpur to get to Miri.
Unless you’re coming from Singapore, where you can get the only international flight into Miri.
As a town on the coast of a large island in a sub-tropical region, you would expect Miri Borneo weather to be relatively hot and humid due to the tropical rainforest climate of Borneo.
With all that coast and humidity, you would also expect Miri to have a lot of beaches and a lot of rainforests. It does not disappoint.
Hash Runs Through Rainforests – Fun Things to Do in Malaysia
A great way to see some of these rainforests is to join a Hash Run.
If you’re not aware of the Hash House Harriers, they are a non-competitive running group for all runners, with chapters all around the world.
They bill themselves as a ‘drinking group with a running problem’.
In most places, that means participants spend an hour or so running on a trail that has been marked out for them by ‘hares’. Then the event culminates in ‘the Circle’.
What to Do in Malaysia – Drink Local Treats in Beautiful Places in Malaysia
In places like Hong Kong, where people take transport to the event, the Circle involves alcohol for everyone of age and soft drinks for the young ones.
In Miri, where people generally drive to the event, the Circle involves local milk tea drinks and local-style Borneo food.
You’ll find the Miri Hash crew are a pretty fit bunch and their runs are more on the moderate to difficult end of the scale than some other hash groups.
They’re also a super friendly bunch and the Circle is always entertaining.
Budget Tip: Miri is a great destination if you’re looking for a cheaper way to get to Brunei, as direct flights to Brunei are crazy expensive.
Beautiful Places in Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia and a federal territory within the state of Selangor. See Kuala Lumpur on a map at the top of this article.
It is famous for the Patronas Towers. They were the tallest buildings in the world until Taipei 101 was built in Taiwan in 2004.
Given their location in downtown Kuala Lumpur, you can see the towers from many places in the city.
Sure, they are striking buildings, but there is so much more to see in Kuala Lumpur!
Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur – Beautiful Places in Malaysia
The Batu Caves are a popular tourist destination in Kuala Lumpur and one of the best places to visit in Malaysia.
‘Batu’ means rock, so as you can guess, they are caves in a big rock.
The rock rises starkly above the surrounding flat land. Inside the main cave, to which entry is free, there is a very important Hindu shrine.
There are other caves, like the Dark Cave, which have a fee to enter, but it’s not necessary to enter those caves to enjoy your time at the Batu Caves complex.
The caves complex is colourful and lively. There are various statues all around.
Things for Sale inside the Batu Caves Complex
The complex is quite huge and there are a few restaurants. You also might find some vendor carts and market stalls set up around the caves. The stalls could be selling anything from coconuts to locally made souvenirs, to food for the monkeys.
You should absolutely never feed the copious amount of monkeys hanging around the complex!
Feeding wild animals is never a good idea. I’m pretty sure that vendors aren’t supposed to be encouraging it either.
How to Get to Batu Caves in Gombak, Selangor
There are actually quite a few ways to get to the Batu Caves. You can take the KTM (blue line) from KL Sentral station Kuala Lumpur to Batu Caves station.
This is the most cost effective transport option, as it only costs 2.6 Malaysian Ringgit (MYR)/US$0.65. If you are female, you may want to travel in the ladies carriage. Apparently Malaysian men can get a bit gropey.
You could also get a Grab (Southeast Asian Uber) or taxi from downtown Kuala Lumpur for about 50 MYR/US$12.
Or, if you’re feeling energetic, the cheapest way to get there is to walk! To be fair, this option might not be a good one for everyone. Especially those not accustomed to Southeast Asian humidity.
But if you enjoy walking, it takes about 2 hours from downtown Kuala Lumpur.
Hiking to Beautiful Places in Malaysia – Waterfall at Bukit Apeh
Towards the eastern limits of suburban Kuala Lumpur you’ll find the Bukit Pituh area. There you can snap some beautiful Kuala Lumpur photos on your way to the Bukit Apeh waterfall!
What makes the Bukit Pituh trail even cooler is the rest stations and signs that some locals have taken the time to make. The trail is very well signed!
My favourite part of the trail was the exercise area that had just been whipped up using things from the forest and some containers for dumbells.
Nope, I lied. Obviously the waterfall was my favourite part! Bukit Pituh is definitely one of the most beautiful places in Malaysia to visit.
Kuala Lumpur at Night – Beautiful Places in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur is a relatively safe city that has quite a varied nightlife with more than it’s far share of clubs, pubs and rooftop bars.
There are also some markets that become pretty active in the evening too.
If you can get yourself to one of those rooftop pubs, you may get a bird’s eye view of Kuala Lumpur at night.
Beautiful Places in Malaysia – Genting Highlands Malaysia
The Genting Highlands Malaysia are around 50 kilometres from Kuala Lumpur and are located in the states of Selangor and Pahang. They are on Mount Ulu Kali, which is 1800 metres above sea level.
The complex on the top of the hill, Genting Highlands Park, could be described as beautiful, tacky, amusing and interesting, along with a whole heap of other adjectives. It really is a lot.
A Theme Park in a Building on a Hill – Colourful and Beautiful Places in Malaysia
Genting Highlands Park is often, mistakenly, called a theme park in Kuala Lumpur, when it is in fact about about 50 kilometres away from Kuala Lumpur.
That doesn’t change the fact that it can be a bit of an assault on the senses. It’s bright, bustling and noisy. But it has rides, so you may be willing to forgive some of the noise.
There are also carnival type food stalls and food halls in the Genting Highlands Theme Park which are, surprisingly, not too expensive.
It’s a nice day trip from Kuala Lumpur that will cost about 60 MYR/US$14.30 including all transport and lunch. Of course going on the rides will cost extra. Wandering around and snapping photos is free.
Getting to the Genting Highlands – What to Do in Malaysia
The most scenic way to get to the Genting Highlands is to take the 10 minute Awana SkyWay cable car ride.
It’s only 8 MYR/US$2 for a one way trip from the Awana transport hub to the SkyAvenue terminus in the Genting Highlands.
That’s a pretty good cash to view ratio!
But first you need to get a bus from downtown Kuala Lumpur to Awana for 10 MYR/US$2.40. It’s about a two hour ride.
The Southern State of Johor – Ruggedly Beautiful Places in Malaysia
Johor, the southern Malaysian state that borders Singapore, is a mountainous region famous for it’s challenging hikes.
It’s also full of dense tropical rainforests due to it equatorial climate. That means your Johor Bahru activities should include hiking!
Getting to Beautiful Places in Malaysia – The State of Johor
In the state of Johor you will find the capital, Johor Bahru. You can get a bus from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru for 24 MYR/US$5.70 for an overnight bus to 35 MYR/US$8.40 for a daytime bus.
The bus takes 4 to 6 hours depending on the time of day and traffic levels.
Tickets can be purchased online or at bus stations.
Legoland Malaysia Resort – Fun Things to do and Beautiful Places in Malaysia
When people think about what to do in Johor Bahru, they may think that the Legoland Malaysia Resort is a Johor Bahru tourist attraction, but it is actually located in Iskandar Puteri, around 20 kilometres away.
Iskandar Malaysia is a beautiful green area with rolling hills. The Legoland Malaysia Theme Park is kind of in the middle of nowhere, as in there are no other buildings near it.
You can get a bus from Johor Bahru to Legoland for 30 MYR at anytime of the day. Or there is a daily bus, at 7am, from Kuala Lumpur to Legoland Malaysia for 57 MYR.
Fun and Beautiful Places in Malaysia – Legoland Malaysia Theme Park
If you’re a big kid, like me, the Legoland Malaysia Theme Park is amazing. Everything about it is fun!
From the Lego children trying to sneak in for free. To the stoic but cute Star Wars Storm Trooper.
To the Lego man inexplicably walking off with a toilet. To Lego Einstein and Yoda. To Lego chef. To Lego pharoah.
Everything is awesome!
Legoland Malaysia is divided into different worlds with different themes to explore. Once such world is Miniworld, where you’ll find minature Lego versions of major Asian landmarks and even a working model of Singapore’s Merlion!
The entrance fee is 140 MYR/US$33.50, but when you think about how much work has gone into making the Lego models around the park, it seems like a pretty fair price to pay.
Plus it is one of the most endearingly fun and beautiful places in Malaysia!
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What do you think of these beautiful places in Malaysia? Would you visit them? Or are there other beautiful places in Malaysia that you would like to share? We’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments!
Also feel free to tell your friends about these beautiful places in Malaysia by sharing this article. Thank you! :o)
12 Replies to “Beautiful Places in Malaysia”
What an amazing place with so many different types of things to do.
Malaysia has entertainment options for everyone!
The hash run would be super fun! And the caves look like a must-visit for sure.
The Hash Run wasn’t something I’d originally planned on doing, but it was fun.. and exhausting!
The Waterfall at Bukit Apeh looks incredible. I’ve never been to Malaysia but it’s on my list, so thank you for sharing this. I’m definitely saving this for later!
Yes, it was such a cool little waterfall and I was able to walk straight there from where I was staying!
What a great and unique list of things to do. Never heard of Hash Runs before. I did a research on how to improve public transportation a few years ago for work and that was the first time I come across female only carriages on trains. Very interesting, thanks for sharing.
Malaysia was the first place I cane across female carriages, but funnily enough, I ended up in Dubai the next week where they also have female carriages, but only during rush hours.
I’ve heard such great things about Kuala Lumpur! Malaysia looks absolutely beautiful. I would also love to go on that amazing waterfall hike – what a great recommendation!
I’d love to visit Kuala Lumpur and check out the caves you mentioned. So much to do, so little time!
The caves were cool. And free. I like free cool stuff, hehe
I have never been to Malaysia, but it’s definitely on my list! And yes, I would love to visit these places you’ve mentioned :)