If you’re not into history, nature, or seeing temples, there’s not much else you can see or do in Kuala Selangor.
That said, here are the attractions that we think you should take note of if you want to make a day trip out of exploring this area. Many of these are on Bukit Melawati.
Bukit Melawati
Bukit Melawati or Melawati Hill is a hill near Kuala Selangor that attracts visitors daily, especially on the weekends! There are no entrance fees, and anyone can come and enjoy the scenery and fresh air here!
You can walk, drive or take the weekend tram up from the base to the top of the hill. For adults, the slow tram ride is not exciting, but kids will be thrilled! Buy tickets at the base of the hill in front of the car park.
If you choose to drive up, you can only do so outside of tram operating hours. That means weekdays or early morning or late evening for weekends.
Honestly, if you are able-bodied, it’s not a difficult climb up to Bukit Melawati. The path goes up the road. It took us less than 10 minutes before we saw the bleached-white lighthouse on top of the hill.
This is the Altingsburg Lighthouse which is a 27m tall historic landmark that dates back to 1907. Today, it is still lit up from 7pm to 6am and the light can be seen 18 nautical miles away. Visitors cannot go up the lighthouse without special permission. But the tram ride from the base of the hill makes a stop here.
Another highlight here are the remaining walls and cannons of Melawati Fort (Kota Melawati). From the top of the hill, you can see the Straits of Malacca too.
Bukit Melawati is a great opportunity to see silver leaf monkeys up close (and for free!). The babies are especially adorable with their persimmon-colored fur! Adults have dark grey fur in contrast.
Despite there being many vendors selling food for the monkeys, do not feed them as it makes them too dependent on humans!
Note: The practice also attracts the more aggressive monkeys!
By the way, as you make your way down (on foot) from Bukit Melawati, you will see the Royal Mausoleum. It’s fenced up to prevent public access, but the building is nice to admire!
Historical Museum Of Kuala Selangor
Admission to this museum is free and it is here that you can learn about the development of the town. And how Kuala Selangor served as a trading centre for the tin mining industry.
Did you know that Kuala Selangor was the very first capital of the State of Selangor?
It will likely you take you less than an hour to browse through the dioramas, old weapons and other artifacts.
- Opening hours: 9:30am to 5:30pm
Historic landmarks nearby:
- Tanjong Keramat Fort – In the nearby village called Kampong Tanjung Keramat, Tanjong Keramat Fort or Bukit Belanda (“Dutchill”) was a 2-storey granite and clay building built by Sultan Ibrahim, the 2nd Sultan of Selangor. It was taken over by the Dutch in 1784. Today, the walls of the fort and the cannons are gone but you can see the remains of the foundations.
- Virgin’s Grave (or Makam Keramat Anak Dara) – Also in Kampong Tanjung Keramat, this is a small shrine on a hill that has a sad story tied to it. You can read about it from the signboard outside the shrine.
- War Memorial – Built by the British to commemorate their fallen comrades as well as Malaysian soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and II, this war memorial is at the roundabout for Jalan Keramat Tanjong in Kuala Selangor. But instead of the original bronze plaques (which were probably stolen), there are now wooden ones that carry the names of the fallen soldiers.
- Poisoned Well – In its days of use, the poisoned well supposedly contained liquid rubber and scratchy bamboo shoots Traitors were possibly tortured (through severe itching) and drowned here too. Note: Please don’t throw your litter down here!
Kuala Selangor Nature Park (Taman Alam)
The 324 hectares sanctuary is managed by the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS).
Because the park consists mostly of mangroves, mud flats and secondary jungle, you can expect to see many species of birds here (~156 species with 57 migratory types)!
Some common animals you will probably see are fiddler crabs and monkeys! You might even spot otters here!
- Opening hours: 9am to 6pm
- Entrance fee: RM4 (adult), RM1 (student and children below 16)
Note: Malaysian Nature Society members pay RM2.
Boat Tours For Fireflies
As the evening approaches, tours gear up to take people out to see fireflies as there are thousands (now hundreds) of them lighting up the mangroves along the banks of Selangor River!
Book your ticket now via Klook: Fireflies Night TourFireflies Night Tour + Seafood Dinner
Eagle Feeding Tours
Something else that’s popular around here is sea eagle feeding! It involves getting on a boat with other tourists. And the tour company will take you guys along the river.
The beautiful birds will gather soon enough as the tour guides throw out pieces of raw chicken meat for them to catch mid-air!
Many tour operators combine this activity with firefly tours or a visit to the Sky Mirror (more on this later).
However, we strongly advise our readers not to go for these tours as this encourages unnatural behaviour among the eagles (e.g., they don’t eat their usual prey causing an imbalance in the local ecosystem). Besides, raw chicken is just unsanitary!
Beaches
There are two beaches that you can visit in Kuala Selangor, and each are great spots for viewing the sunset! The beaches are an hours’ drive apart.
Pantai Redang is up north while Pantai Remis is south, not far from Jeram.
- Remis Beach (Pantai Remis) – This small beach often has crowds of people on weekends and public holidays even though it is not suitable for swimming! Popular activities include trying the fresh seafood sold at the beach, flying kites, fishing and watching the sunset, of course!
- Redang Beach (Pantai Redang) – Redang beach may share the same name as Redang Island in Terengganu but unlike its namesake, this beach is not ideal for snorkelling, diving or even swimming! However, this is a local hot spot during the evenings as there’s plenty of space to fly kites. And occasionally, you might see some migratory birds flying by! A small Chinese temple and a wishing tree are also close by and worth a quick look!
Food To Try
While Kuala Selangor isn’t famous for its food, it does have a few establishments that have made their own mark on the town.
- Auntie Foo Café -This quaint air-conditioned cafe is a popular for breakfast and is in a heritage building in the middle of town. Must-try items include their homemade ice-cream! Western dishes are available on the menu too besides local favorites like nasi lemak. Another must-try at this cafe is the cendol. They also sell dried local seafood and other souvenirs.
- Kedai Kopi Shin Lok 新乐茶室 – If you were thinking of checking out Remis Beach (Pantai Remis), then it’s worth coming here for the steamed buns of various fillings are sold here. Vegetable buns sell out pretty quick! And if you’ve never tried kaya before, here’s your chance! They also have other snacks here like taro dumplings and curry puffs. Meanwhile, the coffee is great too!
Seafood Restaurants
Kuala Selangor is known for affordable seafood. Here two prominent restaurants if you want to have a seafood meal while you are here!
- Restoran Tian Wai Tian (天外天海鲜餐室) – This Chinese restaurant (non halal) might look a bit old from the outside, but it serves up some delicious food in an air-conditioned environment too. Recommended dishes include fried oysters, crab with rice noodles and curry fish head.
- River View Seafood Restaurant – Popular for the food as well as its view over the river, this Chinese restaurant is also halal! If you’ve come here before, they no longer offer alcohol. Dishes to try include spicy crab, claypot crab rice, salted egg crab and steamed fish!
Sekinchan
Sekinchan is a popular rural town to visit if you’re in Kuala Selangor. Plan your trip accordingly and you’ll be able to see beautiful green rice fields here!
There’s also a chance to visit a rice processing factory for a tour! And there are many seafood restaurants here as this town also has a small fishing village. See what else you can do in Sekinchan.
We recommend coming to this town in the morning before it gets very hot. And if you can, rent a bicycle to get around as finding parking at tourist hot spots can be a real headache on weekends.
Sky Mirror
Often called the Salar de Uyuni of Malaysia for its resemblance to Bolivia’s Uyuni salt flats, the Sasaran Sky Mirror of Kuala Selangor is a sight you do not want to miss!
But because the sandbar only appears during low tide, there are limited tour slots. In fact, these tours only run a few times a month, depending on the tide. So, make sure you book early!
Temples
Temples are aplenty around Kuala Selangor – take your pick and try to squeeze at least one into your trip!
- Qi Jian Xian Shi Fo Zu Gu Miao –This is a small and colorful Taoist-Buddhist temple but you can get a good view of the sea from the top!
- Monkey God Temple (Xi Ling Gong) – You can also get a good view of the surrounding area from atop this colorful temple. Take some time to admire the images in the temple – some feature the many levels of hell!
- Sri Shakti Devasthanam Temple – This stunning temple is one of the finest Hindu temples in Malaysia with its intricately carved sandstone walls! Besides this, all manifestations of 51 Shakti Peedam (collected from 51 holy sites across South Asia) are here! If you drop by at night, the temple is lit up too!
Conclusion
You don’t really have an excuse not to visit Kuala Selangor if you stay in the Klang valley and you have your own car and a free weekend!
Even one day would suffice to see the best that this rural area has to offer. It’s only an hour’s drive away north Kuala Lumpur. For us, it was 2.5 hours’ drive south from Ipoh!
Have you heard of these other places?
- Learn how to get to this hidden gem near Penang – Frog Hill, Penang
- Plenty of options here if you’re planning a road trip to Pahang
