What Are The Top Ten Tourist Destinations In Malaysia?

(1) Langkawi: The official name of this cluster of 99 islands in the Andaman Sea is Langkawi Permata Kedah (Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah). It is some 30 km off the coast of mainland north-western Malaysia. Pulau Langkawi is the largest island of this archipelago. The island is now a part of the Global Geoparks Network—an initiative by UNESCO to preserve the geological heritage of the planet). There are three main parks in the archipelago—Dayang Buntnig Marble Geoforest Park, Kilim Karst Geoforest Park and Machincang Cambrian Geoforest Park. These are the most popular tourist areas in Langkawi. There are also popular beaches likes Burau Bay, Pantai Cenang etc.

(2) Batu Feringgi: This beach area in the Malaysian state of Penang can be translated into English as Foreigner’s Rock. It is famous for its night life and its hotels, which are built near the beaches and offer a wonderful view.

(3) KLCC Twin Towers: Famous internationally as the Petronas Twin Towers and to the locals as Menara Berkembar Petronas, these towers were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 till 2004 when Taipei 101 replaced them as the tallest building in the world. The towers were designed by the Chilean architects named César Pelli and Djay Cerico and two South Korean and a Japanese company constructed the towers. The buildings stand on 120 meters deep foundations.

(4) Sepang International Circuit: Designed by the German designer Hermann Tike, the Sepang International Circuit is located about 60 km from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. It is a venue for a number of major motor-sport events. The layout of the circuit is quite unusual—it is 5.54 km long and can accommodate around 100,000 fans.

(5) A’Famosa: It is the name of a castle built by the Portuguese during the age of exploration. The Portuguese built the castle to keep a firm foothold in the Far East. Much of the castle was destroyed during a seven-month siege by the Dutch. Then, to save it from falling into the hands of the French, the Dutch handed the castle over to the British. The British, in turn, destroyed the castle to prevent it from falling to the French. The castle was accidentally discovered in 2006 and today it is a major tourist spot.

(6) Endau – Rompin State Park: It is a National Park and covers an area of 80,000 hectares between the rivers Endau and Rompin. Tourists enter the park through an aboriginal village named Orang Ali. The park is home to a fantastic range of new species (and not all of them are yet catalogued) and to protect the park, only limited areas are open to tourists and a special permit needed to visit the park. The park remains closed during the rainy season each year; which lasts from November to March.

(7) Taman Negara: It was the first officially protected area (or a national park) in Malaysia. It used to be called King George V National Park but the name was changed to ‘Taman Negara’ in 1957 when the nation gained independence. Jungle trekking and river cruises are the most popular activities in the Park. With an estimated age of 130 million years, it is one of the oldest and most complex rainforests in the world.

(8) Pulau Perhentian: Situated just 21 km off the coast of Terengganu near the Pulau Redang Marine Park, it comprises two main islands of Pulau Perhentian Besar and Pulau Perhentian Kecil. It is covered with virtually untouched forests and the area is a sanctuary for the migratory birds and the fishermen. Pulau Perhentian can be translated into English as ‘Stopover Island’; this means it is something which can’t be missed while you are on a tour of Malaysia.

(9) Gunung Mulu National Park: Home to one of the longest networks of caves in the world, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The national park is located near Miri, in Malaysian Borneo. The world became aware of the importance of the area when a team of 100 scientists of the Royal Academy of Science led a series of expeditions to the area. Some of the caves in the area are quiet large and one of them, the Sarawak Chamber, is large enough to fit forty Boeing 747s.

(10) Kinabalu Park: Located at more than 1,585 meters above the sea level, the area covers a total of 754 square kilometres. Mount Tambayukon and Mount Kinabalu also fall in this area and another fascinating fact about the mountains is that they were formed a little over a thousand years. These mountains are the focal point of the Kinabalu Park.

Written by Lucas Beaumont

Generalist. Wikipedia contributor. Elementary school teacher from Saskatchewan, Canada.

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