The Everlasting Peace of Taiping

Taiping is a town located in the northern area in Perak. It is also called ‘the rain town’ as it receives the highest amount of rain compared to other towns in Malaysia. Taiping has been developed since 1874 with the concept of Traditional Iron Grid. The name Taiping means “the everlasting peace” was taken after the word Tai Peng. Ages ago, Taiping is known as Klian Pauh. The town was developed by a Malay man named Long Jaafar. He opened a tin dredge in Larut. The name was changed to Taiping after the Larut War in 1874. Taiping used to be the main city in Perak and the oldest city in Malaysia. Thus, this town has been developed much earlier than we ever thought. There are a lot of interesting places to be visited in Taiping; such as historical places, the beautiful scenery for recreation activities and a lot more.

First of all is the Perak Museum. It is the first in Asia and was first established in 1883. Perak Museum is located in front of the Taiping Jail. To get to the Taiping Museum, visitors can choose to drive or get the public transport. People can get a lot of historical knowledge in this museum.

Another historical place in Taiping is the Kota Ngah Ibrahim Historical Complex which is situated in Matang. It was built in 1870 over two acres of land as the official residence of Ngah Ibrahim. However, after the death of Ngah Ibrahim in 1895, this building has been under the English administration. Over the years, it has served as various establishments including as Larut Matang administrative centre, as a court for the prosecution of Dato Maharaja Lela and Dato Sagor for the killing of J.W.W Birch, the first teacher’s training college, the first national school, Japanese headquarters, and presently as the Kota Ngah Ibrahim Historical Complex. There are several facilities available for the visitors including the rest house, surau, library, tourist guide, research and book-selling.

For the nature lovers, Taiping Lake Garden must be the most amazing place you ever been to. Taiping lake Garden is the oldest and apparently one of the most beautiful lake gardens in Malaysia. The Taiping Lake Garden is the biggest urban parkland in Malaysia. It is located in the vicinity of Larut Hill (Maxwell Hill). It also offers very eye-catching scenery of the drooping branches of the ancient rain-trees alongside the lake which never failed to be the finest relaxing spot for family outings.

As everyone knows, Taiping Zoo has now become one of the biggest attractions in Malaysia. Taiping Zoo houses a variety of exotic animals and provides hours of recreational pleasure to the visitors. The visitors will be able to experience the real habitats of the animals as they are placed in the midst of the beautiful natural setting with streams, lakes and the abundance of flora. On the other hand, Taiping Night Safari is the first of its kind in Malaysia. The aim is to let the visitors experiencing the nocturnal wildlife surroundings by not only having the sights of the animals, but the visitors can also listen to the sounds made by numerous creatures in the zoo. To fully appreciate this experience, visitors are required to minimize all sounds, even speech. With a special lightning similar to the moonlight, the visitors will be amazed on the magnificent view of the nature.

Also known as the Maxwell Hill, it is the oldest vacation spot in Malaysia. It was found around 100 years ago and named after the first British Resident in Perak, W.E Maxwell. Maxwell Hill was opened in 1884 as the rest place for the English honorable men. Their bungalows; Bukit Larut Rest House, Banglo Beringin, Banglo Angkasa, Banglo Cendana, Banglo Tempinis, Sri Kayangan, Gunung Hijau Rest House and The Cottage, remain until now as the accommodation for the visitors. Bukit Larut is approximately 1035m above the sea level. The Land Rover service up the hill runs hourly from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm daily at reasonable rates.

Matang Mangrove Forest is the heaven for the nature lovers and researchers all over the world. Matang Mangrove Forest is located in Kuala Sepetang. It is also recognized as one of the well-managed expanses of mangrove swamps in the world. This forest would be a heaven for the nature lovers as it surrounded by a lot of tree species, birds and aquatic life.

Taiping is not just a good place for students trip or historical explorers, but it also a nice place for recreational activities with friends or families. With its cool climate and beautiful natural scenery, Taiping provides less-hectic surrounding which has made it one of the most relaxing vacation spots in Malaysia. Plus, people will surely enjoy Taiping because of its ‘low-priced’ in almost everything. Taiping is a place like no other. So come to Taiping and experience the calmness in its amazing nature!