Our family put off going to Ipoh for a long time. This was not because we did not want to go here but because Malaysia is so full of places to explore. It took us over a year and a half of exploring before we finally made it to Ipoh. But we were glad we finally made it to this city. Like all the different towns in Malaysia Ipoh has its own character and things that make it special. There are so many fun things to do in Ipoh with kids.
Where is Ipoh
Ipoh is the largest and capital city in the Malaysian state of Perak. It is about 200 kilometers north of Kuala Lumpur making it about a 3-hour drive. Ipoh has many great attractions and things to do by itself, but its location makes it a great stop on your way to Penang, or as a launching point to other nearby areas such as Cameron Highlands or Gopeng.
How Long Should I spend in Ipoh
Ipoh is small enough that you don’t need too long to explore the city, but if you want to enjoy it to its fullest then we suggest spending 2 days here. If you plan to do a day trip outside of Ipoh or spend the day at The Lost World of Tambun, then we suggest 3 days. Give yourself 2 days for the city itself.
How to get to Ipoh
Driving is the best option to get to Ipoh from either Kuala Lumpur or from Penang. You can either choose to rent your own vehicle or by taking a bus. You do have the option to hire a driver through a transport app such as Grab. For longer distances we don’t prefer this method as it is the most costly. You can read all about how to get around Malaysia in our Guide to Traveling Malaysia with Kids.
One of the things Ipoh is most known for is its vast quantity of temples. Nestled in and next to the many different caves found in the limestone hills around the city, the temple caves have become an attraction in themselves.
Our list of temples is by no means comprehensive. There are just too many to visit, but these are some of the ones we managed to get to and felt were worth sharing.
Here are our tips for visiting temples in Malaysia with kids and our thoughts on the few temples we visited while we were in Ipoh.
Tips on how to Tour Temples with Kids
When it comes to visiting the temples of Ipoh with our kids we tried our hardest to be respectful. All of these temples are set up for religious reasons and they are being actively and heavily used.
Sometimes our kids did not want to enter certain temples because they were uncomfortable being around all the people praying.
The incense smell in some temples was very strong, and it was difficult for some of us who are sensitive to smoke to breathe.
When we take our kids to religious sites, we never force them to do anything that makes them uncomfortable. It is also a good time for us to discuss the different beliefs people have and how they may be the same or differ from what we believe.
Gua Nagas Mas Temple
Our family did not explore all the cave temples in Ipoh. That would be a monumental task for sure as there are dozens of different temples. However, of the ones that we did go to, Gua Naga Mas was our favorite. This one was a few kilometers outside the city, so a bit further away than most of the temples in Ipoh.
Perhaps this was because it was under renovations and there were not many people there. It also was the only temple that we went to that offered good hiking. To get the best views from this temple you have to hike up a few hundred stairs to the top. There are various mini worship spots dotting the hills as you walk up, so you can go as far as you want.
However, the main complex, and prettiest parts, are at the very beginning. So you don’t need to be a good stair climber to appreciate this temple.
The stairs are very uneven, so please be careful of tripping with little kids.
There are also a few other small hiking paths you can take for extra exercise. Our boys didn’t feel like doing the extra walking, but the girls wanted to keep going.
This temple is most notable because it starts off as a mini Batu Caves. Interestingly, the Gua Naga Mas is a Buddhist temple while Batu Caves is Hindu. This temple looks like the Batu Caves because the stairs start off being brightly colored just like its Kuala Lumpur counterpart.
However this temple continues by entering into a large Buddhist statue, then up along rickety stairs to the top of the hill. The views of the surrounding area were great and if your family enjoys a small but steep hike, this is a great one to go on!
Gua Naga Mas Temple
Cost: Free
Hours 11:00am - 6:00pm.
The sign inside the temple area says it opens at 11am. We got there shortly before 10:45 and there were already a few cars there. We were allowed in.
Sam Poh Tong Temple
The Sam Poh Tong Temple was the second cave temple we explored while in Ipoh. This temple is along a road that is home to half a dozen different temples right next to each other. There were a lot of people visiting these temples, so we decided it was not worth exploring each one fully as we would have ended up with very tired and cranky kids. And probably adults.
We visited right at the end of Ramadan, so it was a Malaysian public holiday weekend. We assume they are always busy and crowded, but perhaps when we went it was especially busy.
Sam Poh Tong temple has a beautiful exterior with a fancy pond with amazing stone ‘islands’ in the pond. This makes for a nice photo opportunity for those instagram enthusiasts. Our family is not so much into staged pictures, but we enjoyed the pretty gardens.
We had a bit of a snack and water break, and then a few of us explored into the cave part of the temple.
At the entrance to the cave you will find many people offering up incense and making offerings. The cave itself is more narrow and has a few statues and sports of worship as you go through. The walkways through this cave are not dark, but they are not lit super well.
The reward at this temple is that once you break through to the other side of the cave it opens up to a hidden jungle clearing. In the clearing you are completely surrounded by the jungle and they have built a beautiful temple in the middle.
You will also find tortoises in the garden. A popular activity is to buy pellets to feed them.
Sam Poh Tong Temple
Cost: Free
Hours: 8:00am - 2:00pm
Nam Thean Tong Temple
The Nam Thean Tong Temple is another cave along the major temple road. Our family enjoyed this temple for a few reasons.
First, we really enjoyed seeing the large incense sticks at the entrance. These incense sticks were easily 8 feet tall. Located in the parking lot you did not have to go inside to get a good whiff of the incense.
Secondly, this cave is very heavy on the dragons. They had some cool dragon statues that were interwoven into the stalactites to make them look like they were climbing pillars.
This temple was very well lit and was in a much larger open cavern. Interestingly this temple had a hall of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. So it was very interesting to see the mix of different philosophies in one temple complex.
Nam Thean Tong
Cost: Free but with recommended donation.
Hours: 8:00-4:45pm
There is a box where you can donate money, but they also have a really cool ‘dragon’ that is designed for you to toss your donation into.
Ling Sen Tong Temple
The Long Sen Tong Temple is the first temple you come to on the main temple road. As this one is the first one, it was the most crowded to find parking spaces, so we ended up having to park a long way from it. By the time we got to it we were tired and only hung around the outside.
The outside is very pretty with lots of flowers and great Chinese architecture.
Inside it is known for a very large reclining Buddha. This is not anywhere as large as the most famous reclining Buddha found in Bangkok, Thailand. But we’ve heard it is sizable.
Ling Sen Tong Temple
Cost: Free
Hours: 9:00-4:00pm
Perak Kwan Yin Tong Temple
Perak Kwan Yin Tong (the one you took pictures of on the way out of town)
The Kwan Yin Tong Temple is about 1.5 kilometers south of the main temple road. This temple is sprawled out and takes up more space on the outside. It houses many units of the same statues of Buddha and other deities. In sheer numbers, this temple has significantly more statues and deities on display than the other temples in Ipoh that we visited. It was very impressive actually. They had hundreds, perhaps thousands, of little ones, and dozens upon dozens of large ones lined up.
We got to this temple close to its closing time, so it was much less crowded than the other temples.
Perak Kwan Yin Tong
Cost: Free
Hours: 9:00am - 5:30pm
Da Seng Ngan Temple
This temple we stopped at on the way as we were leaving the city. We wanted to go to the Tasik Cermin Geopark, and stopped to see this temple as we drove by. Unfortunately it had already closed its gate, so we could not go inside.
From the outside it looked to have a nice pond in the front with many different Buddha statues around the pond. The main cave part of the temple looks to be built into a large overhang of rock which does not appear to be very large. This means most of the experience will be outside in the sun.
From what we could tell it might not be worth an extra trip out to this temple. However, it is located right next to the Tasik Cermin Geopark. This makes it convenient to stop and see it while visiting the geopark.
Da Seng Ngan Temple
Cost: Free
Hours: 10:00am - 5:00pm
Activities to do in Ipoh with Kids
Now that we’ve gone into the temples and religious stuff about Ipoh it is time to consider what other sites and attractions the city has to offer. Like most cities of interest Ipoh is divided up into a historic district and the modern town. The modern town is all the new residential and business that support the local and daily people. It is silly to say there is nothing to do in the modern Ipoh. There are great attractions there, but the historic Ipoh is where most of the visitors go first. And for good reason.
Historic Ipoh is in the middle of the town and is divided into two basic sections because it is divided by a river. You have the Old Town, which is west of the river, and you have the Food Streets, which are east of the river.
Downtown Ipoh
Firstly, we will discuss the Old Town on the west side of the river. The Old Town is most known for the Heritage Trail, Concubine Lane, and the street art.
This list of things to do in Ipoh’s old town are all within walking distance from each other. This makes it very convenient and easy to spend however long you want exploring without having to worry about travel distance to the next location.
Interestingly this area has a large Chinese population, so you will see a lot of signs in Chinese and less in Malay.
Ipoh’s Heritage Trail
The Heritage Trail begins at the clock tower. You can get maps at the visitor center next to the clock tower, and hopefully the map would allow you to follow the trail better. We went through Ipoh during a public holiday, so the visitor center was closed down. The trail was still a lot of fun, and we actually spent a lot of time at the clock tower.
Ipoh’s clock tower is wonderful for kids. On every side there are depictions of a dozen important historical figures and the game is to figure out who each one is. Some of the figures were easy to figure out, others were quite difficult. We had a lot of fun with this.
The trail continues down the stairs and takes you through Concubine Lane. You will also go by the train station which has some impressive architecture.
At the bottom of the stairs you will notice that the street art begins.
Concubine Lane
Let’s get this out in the open. When we heard that Concubine Lane was one of the main sections in Ipoh we were skeptical. The last thing we wanted was to end up in a shady part of town. From our years of living in Bangkok, we learned to avoid places named in such ways!
However, Concubine Lane is completely family friendly. It is named this because historically there was a ruler who had a few concubines, and he gave a street to each one to use to live. One of the roads became well known, so they ran with it.
Concubine Lane starts near Book Xcess and runs down a small road. It is set up with cute handicraft shops, cafes, and photo stops.
It is a popular enough photo location that there are professional photographers there who offer photo packages.
Street Art
The street art in Ipoh is very nice. It is not as extensive and built up as the street art in Penang. The art is mostly located in the Old Town, but if you cross the river to the Food Street you will still see plenty. You will find them randomly scattered around, so keep you eyes open.
The cool thing about the Ipoh street art is they have them ‘as is’. In Penang some of the popular street art is trying to be preserved by covering them in metal frames to replicate the art (actually changing the art to a different form) in order to keep it.
However in Ipoh they have left them how they were made. That means some of them are bright and colorful, and some of them are very faded and chipping off the walls. We liked the more rustic look.
Book Xcess
For the book lover, Ipoh’s Book Xcess is a gem. This quaint book store is in the heart of the historic Old Town section of Ipoh. You will find it right near the entrance to Concubine Lane.
Not only does this bookstore have a nice selection of books but it is also built in an old bank vault. That is right. They took over what used to be a bank and converted it into a very unique bookstore. Complete with safety deposit boxes and large walk in safes.
You can touch and manipulate a good amount of the old bank stuff. Our kids enjoyed spinning the locking mechanisms on the safe doors and peeking inside lots of the deposit boxes to see if anything was left over. Spoiler: we didn’t find anything!
We found this as a good stopping location. Nothing cheers up the spirits like half an hour in the air conditioning after exploring all morning. They also have a few food items right inside the door and a free bathroom on the second floor.
The public toilet on Concubine Lane costs money to use so take advantage of the free ones when you can.
The Street Food Scene
The main food streets of Ipoh are located to the east of the river in the historic downtown. In our opinion this is where it is happening in Ipoh. The temples are great and the Old Town is cool, but when it comes to popularity and where the people are: this is it.
All during our time living in Malaysia people have told us that we need to go to Ipoh for the food. If you want good food: Ipoh.
So we will go into a little bit about the food scene at Ipoh. As a family we prefer to stay away from crowds. However when it comes to Ipoh and food, you cannot get away from the crowd.
The best rule of thumb is if a restaurant or shop has a line out the door it is where you need to be. This unfortunately is true. The good shops are packed for a reason. The food is very good.
Continue reading to learn about the most popular food in Ipoh is and what is especially good if you have kids.
We are going to shift gears a little now and discuss a few of the activities outside of the old town. These are not walkable to.
Lost World of Tambun
The Lost World of Tambun is one of those activities in Ipoh that is not in the historic part of town. It is located in the northern part of the city. For those who want a great theme park, this is the place to go. It really has nothing to do with Ipoh only that it is built around the hills and incorporates the terrain into its layout.
Tasik Cermin Geopark
The Tasik Cermin Geopark unfortunately had just closed down for the day by the time we got to it. This place seems like a really fun place to explore with a family.
Tasik Cermin Geopark
Hours: 9:00am - 6:00pm
Entrance Fee:
12RM - Foreigner
7RM - Malaysian Citizen
Free - Below 90cm
They have many activities that are suitable for families. You can go on a 20 minute boat ride on what they call the mirror lake. Here you can boat through some water tunnels and into
Boat Ride
30RM - 13 and over
22RM - 60 and over
22RM - 12 and below
Free - Below 90cm
There is also a Miners Tunnel that you can explore. Here you can walk around old mining tunnels.
There are other activities you can engage in such as fishing, 4-wheeling, and trekking.
Check their website for a full list of activities.
Ipoh’s Most Popular Food and What is Good with Kids
Here is a breakdown of some of our most notable and our favorite foods in Ipoh. Use this as a guide but we also recommend asking locals or even other Malaysians during your travels to other parts of the country what food they recommend. Everyone knows about Ipoh’s food scene and has a food recommendation!
Egg Tarts
There are multiple varieties of egg tarts available, and there are many different shops that sell them. We tried from a few different shops and they were all good.
You can try cheese egg, Portuguese style, Hong Kong style, chocolate (Nutella), and charcoal. There are many more, but those were our favorites.
They are nice and small, perfect for kids to eat on the go! They were by far our boys favorite food in Ipoh.
Heong Peah
This is a more dense and flaky pastry. There is a caramel-like filling on the inside. It is a dry pastry and one would recommend eating outside. We first ate it in the car and the crumbs were everywhere.
Egg Caramel Custard
This custard was available inside restaurants. The restaurants are not necessarily known for it but many of them offer it. Look for pictures of caramel custard on the wall. Some places call it egg custard. If you read Chinese, both caramel custard and egg custard are the same food, so it depends how the shop owner translated it into English.
The caramel custards were great. They are a nice firm custard or flan topped with brown caramel syrup.
Beggar Chicken
This was new to us. The shops season a chicken then wrap it in baking paper and aluminum foil. Then they cover the chicken in a thick layer of mud and cook it for up to 6 hours. The result is a very tender and juicy chicken. It is served with rice.
We really enjoyed breaking open the dried mud to find the cooked whole chicken inside. A fun way to start a meal. And it feed our whole family.
Breaded Chicken
This is another take on the Beggar Chicken. However, instead of a whole chicken, inside you will find a variety of different chicken dishes. The most common ones are bbq, curry, or coconut milk curry. The curry mix is covered in bread dough and then baked. They are usually large family sized chicken buns. Some shops sell smaller personal sized ones, but the large sizes are most common.
White Coffee
Probably Ipoh’s most notable impact on the culinary world is their white coffee. This coffee is roasted in palm oil margarine. The coffee is served with sweetened condensed milk.
We are coffee enthusiasts. Dad’s rule is, if he is offered a coffee he will never refuse! The kids often enjoy a nice and sweet coffee sometimes also, though they prefer the Malaysian teh tarik (pulled tea).
However, we were underwhelmed with the Ipoh white coffee. Most shops that sold it opt to make a mug of instant white coffee. These are extremely popular and you can buy Ipoh instant white coffee all over the country. They make great travel gifts.
But don’t let us sway you with our preferences. Try Ipoh white coffee and see what you think! We, however, expected more from ordering Ipoh white coffee when drinking it in its place of origin.
The original shop that is known for developing the white coffee is Oldtown White Coffee and their flagship store is in Oldtown Ipoh.
Pomelo
Pomelo is the fruit that Ipoh is most known for. You can buy many different types and sizes. They have them spread out and identified. You can buy sweet ones and more sour ones, large ones and small ones. Some are pink inside and some are yellow.
They can be found basically all year long as they grow all year, but the main bulk of the season is from November through March or April.
Beansprouts
Strangely Ipoh is known for its beanspouts among the local Malaysians. Apparently they are plumper and juicier in Ipoh. If you are an enthusiastic foodie you may notice and want to experience the difference. The ‘fancy’ beansprouts were wasted on us…I would not have been able to notice they were different.
The dish to try beansprouts in is their famous bean sprout chicken rice.
Recommended Restaurants
Of the different places we tried or heard about, this is our list of TOP restaurants to try in Ipoh.
Lam Fong: This shop sells an assortment of goodies. You can pick up fresh pomelos here. They also sell an array of baked goods. The egg tarts were amazing here and there were many different options.
Old Town Coffee: This is the original Ipoh white coffee cafe. You can find the drink elsewhere, but for historical reasons, this is the place to go.
Kacang Soya Funny Mountain: This is a bustling place that sells soy desserts. The lines were out the door and it is very popular. We first tried Tau Fu Fah, soy pudding, in Sungai Lembing and fell in love with the dish. This restaurant is known to have the best tau fu fah in the Ipoh area.
Some Day Trips from Ipoh
As mentioned earlier, Ipoh is a great launching off point as there are some great day trips available from Ipoh.
Things To Do in the Cameron Highlands – Off The Beaten Path With Kids
One of the most popular day trips is to head into Cameron Highlands. The Cameron Highlands are just about 40 kilometers away. Because of windy roads it can take about 2 hours to drive there from Ipoh. Once there you are rewarded with nice cool weather. Read all about the things to do in the Cameron Highlands.
Gopeng is about 30 minutes to the south, and Gopeng offers great outdoor activities. Gopeng is best for families with older kids. Some activities have age limits so check out what you want to do. Just the scenery and playing in the river is great and fun for all ages.
Places to Stay in Ipoh with Kids
Here are a few recommended places to stay with kids in Ipoh.
Ipoh Waterpark Manhattan Premium Suites at Ipoh Manhattan Suites by IWH is about 7 or 8 kilometers away from the Old Downtown area, so it is best if you have a vehicle or if you are ok taxing around. This property is great because you can fit the whole family in 1 unit as you get an entire property. This is how our family prefers to do accommodations as we don’t like having two separate rooms. This property has a waterpark on site, so that is a plus for the kids! This property is actually operated like an Air B&B. You can find other properties on Booking at the same location. Pick what works best for your family and budget.
Cititel Express Ipoh is another good option that gets you within walking distance from all the Old Town activities. The rooms are rather standard, but it is right next to the river and easy walking distance from the main stuff. This makes the location ideal.