Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SIGHTS
Penang Hill
PENANG HILL
(
www.penanghill.gov.my
;
funicular adult/child RM30/15, museum admission free; 6.30am-7pm Mon-Fri, to 9pm Sat
& Sun, funicular every 30min during opening hours)
The top of Penang Hill, 821m above George Town,
is generally about 5°C cooler than at sea level, and provides a cool retreat from the sticky
heat below. From the summit there's a spectacular view over the island and across to the
mainland. There are some gardens, a simple food court, an exuberantly decorated Hindu
temple and a mosque as well as David Brown's (
Click here
)
, a colonial-style British res-
taurant serving everything from beef Wellington to high tea.
On weekends and public holidays lines for the funicular can be horrendously long, with
waits of up to 30 minutes, but on weekdays queues are minimal. From the trail near the up-
per funicular station you can walk the 5.5km to the Botanical Gardens (Moon Gate) in
about three hours. The easier 5.1km tarred jeep track from the top also leads to the gardens,
just beyond the Moon Gate. From Weld Quay Bus Terminal, Komtar Bus Station or Lebuh
Chulia, you can catch the frequent bus 204 (RM2). A taxi here from the centre of George
Town will set you back about RM25.
HILL
BOTANICAL GARDENS
visitors who miss these 30- hectare gardens, which are also known as the Waterfall Gardens
after the stream that cascades through from Penang Hill, or the Monkey Gardens for the
many long-tailed macaques that scamper around. Don't be tempted to feed them: monkeys
do bite, and there's a RM500 fine if you're caught. You'll also see dusky leaf monkeys,
black giant squirrels and myriad giant bugs and velvety butterflies, which are all consider-
ably more docile.
Once a granite quarry, the gardens were founded in 1884 by Charles Curtis, a tireless
British plant lover who collected the original specimens and became the first curator. Today
Penangites love their garden and you'll find groups practising t'ai chi, jogging, picnicking
and even line dancing here.
GARDENS
