Private Full-Day City Highlights Tour Kuala Lumpur

Petronas Twin Towers

The Petronas Twin Towers rise 452 metres above the Kuala Lumpur City Centre district and have been the symbol of modern Malaysia since their completion in 1998. Their steel-and-glass facades follow an Islamic star pattern, and a two-storey skybridge links the towers high above the ground. Anyone searching for how to visit the Petronas Twin Towers will find that daytime tickets for the skybridge and observation deck are limited and often sell out.

On this private Kuala Lumpur city tour your driver stops at the base of the towers for photographs from the best angles, in the KLCC Park beside the lake and fountains. Entry tickets to the towers are not included, so decide early if you want to go up. Many guests are happy with the view from the park, which also gives a clear shot of the whole building in daylight.

Kuala Lumpur Tower and Bukit Nanas

Kuala Lumpur Tower, known locally as Menara KL, is a telecommunications tower 421 metres high, standing on Bukit Nanas, a small forest reserve in the middle of the city. Its observation deck gives a panoramic view of the Petronas Twin Towers, the old city and the green hills around the capital. The revolving tower cap and the open sky deck are the main attractions for visitors who go up.

Entry fees for the tower are not included in the tour price, so tell your driver whether you want to go up or just photograph it from the base. Late morning is usually clearest, and afternoons can bring heavy tropical rain. If you plan to ascend, allow about an hour for the queue, the elevator and the time on the deck. Your driver adjusts the rest of the day around your choice.

Batu Caves

Batu Caves is a limestone hill about thirteen kilometres north of the city centre, and it is the most important Hindu shrine in Malaysia outside India. A giant golden statue stands at the foot of a staircase of 272 steps painted in rainbow colours that leads up to the main Temple Cave, a cathedral-like chamber open to the sky with shrines at the far end. Wild macaques live on the hillside, so keep bags closed and food out of sight.

Allow one to one and a half hours for the climb and the visit. Entry to the main cave is free and visitors must dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered. The festival of Thaipusam, usually in January or February, brings enormous crowds, so check dates before you travel. A morning visit is cooler and gives better light for photographs than the afternoon heat.

Merdeka Square, the Railway Station and the National Mosque

The colonial heart of Kuala Lumpur lies around Merdeka Square, where Malaysia's independence was proclaimed in 1957. Facing it stands the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, with its Moorish copper domes and tall clock tower, and nearby the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, a white building in a mix of Eastern and Western styles. These are photo stops rather than long visits and fit easily into a half-hour.

Close by, the National Mosque, Masjid Negara, has a distinctive umbrella-shaped roof and a minaret 73 metres high. Visitors outside prayer times may enter with modest dress, and robes are lent at the entrance. The River of Life, where the Klang and Gombak rivers meet, is the birthplace of the city and has been transformed into a landscaped waterfront. Your driver chooses the order to avoid prayer times and heavy traffic.

Chinatown and Little India

Chinatown, centred on Petaling Street, is a lively market district of shophouses, temples, traditional medicine halls and stalls selling bags, watches and souvenirs. A short walk takes you past Chinese and Hindu temples that show how closely the city's communities have lived. Bargaining is expected in the market, and it is hot in the middle of the day, so carry water.

Little India, centred on Brickfields, is a colourful neighbourhood of sari shops, flower garland sellers, jewellery stores and sweet shops, with a painted arch at the entrance. These areas are best explored on foot for a short time, with your driver waiting nearby so you never carry shopping far. The tour ends here or returns to the hotel by late afternoon, depending on your starting time and pace.