The Orchid Garden
Hundreds of orchid varieties in a shaded corner of the park.
Renek78 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · RivieraBarnes — CC BY-SA 4.0 · RivieraBarnes — CC BY-SA 4.0 · RivieraBarnes — CC BY-SA 4.0
Kuala Lumpur's oldest public park, laid out by the British in the 1880s around a lake, and still known to locals by its old name, the Lake Gardens. It is the green lung of the city centre, where residents exercise at dawn before the heat builds and families spend weekend afternoons. The park is very large and divided into sections. The best known are the Orchid Garden, with hundreds of varieties of the region's national flower, and the Hibiscus Garden, for Malaysia's national flower, alongside a deer park, shaded paths and the lake. Entry to the park is free; a token fee may apply to the Orchid and Hibiscus gardens at weekends. The gardens are pleasant rather than spectacular, and their real value is location: in or around them are the Bird Park, the Islamic Arts Museum, the National Mosque, the National Monument and the National Museum. Treat them as the link between those sights in one morning rather than a destination on their own. Distances are big and the ground is hilly, so a pushchair is possible but tiring, and a taxi between sections is kinder in the heat. Come early, between seven and ten, because walking under the tropical sun after that is exhausting, and remember that heavy afternoon rain is common.
Hundreds of orchid varieties in a shaded corner of the park.
Malaysia's national flower in many colours.
From here you reach the Bird Park, the Islamic Arts Museum and the National Mosque.
Jalan Kebun Bunga, Taman Tasik Perdana, Kuala Lumpur
KL Bird ParkYou do not look at the birds through cages here; you walk among them. The park s6 minutes walk4.3
Royal Malaysian Police MuseumA small free museum telling the history of policing in Malaysia, from the guards6 minutes walk4.6
National Museum of MalaysiaFive ringgit, one of the cheapest things you will pay for in Kuala Lumpur, buys 8 minutes walk4.2
Islamic Arts Museum MalaysiaThe largest museum of Islamic art in Southeast Asia, and arguably the finest thi8 minutes walk4.6
National Monument (Tugu Negara)A fifteen-metre bronze group of seven soldiers, one raising the Malaysian flag a9 minutes walk4.6Not much. Make it part of a morning with the Bird Park, the Islamic Arts Museum and the National Mosque; that is the best use of it.