Visiting Ipoh, Malaysia: Top Sights on Foot

Ipoh, the capital of Perak in Malaysia, blends a rich tin‑mining past with colonial buildings, lively murals and dramatic limestone scenery. Its relaxed pace, tasty white coffee and welcoming street‑food scene make it a rewarding stop for anyone exploring Peninsular Malaysia. Neywo provides a free audio guide for Ipoh featuring 18 narrated places.

Explore Ipoh’s highlights

Darul Ridzuan Museum

The Darul Ridzuan Museum offers a space to learn more about Ipoh and the surrounding Kinta District.

Geological Museum

Located in Ipoh’s Kinta District, the Geological Museum focuses on the region’s geology and is also known as the Geological Museum Ipoh.

Han Chin Pet Soo

Han Chin Pet Soo is Malaysia’s first Hakka tin‑mining museum. Situated near the Kinta River and a short walk from Panglima Lane (Concubine Lane), it opened as a museum in February 2015 after serving as the Hakka Tin Miners Club since 1893 and being rebuilt in 1929. Its three floors and roughly 5,000 sq ft of displays contain artefacts, photographs and printed material from the 19th and 20th centuries, while murals by students of the Perak Institute of Art recreate the feeling of being inside a tin mine.

Sam Poh Tong

About five kilometres from the city centre, Sam Poh Tong is a Chinese Buddhist temple built inside a raw limestone cave in the surrounding hills.

Sultan Idris Shah Mosque

This mosque is the state mosque of Perak, located near the Birch Memorial Clock Tower.

Al‑Furqan Mosque

Al‑Furqan Mosque stands in Taman Pengkalan Jaya (also called SPPK) in Ipoh, Perak, and is recorded under mosque registration number MY‑08‑IPH‑00162.

Church of Our Lady of Lourdes

Founded in 1905 by Father Emile Marie Henri Sausseau of the Paris Foreign Missions, this Ipoh church preserves its story through a Heritage Gallery created in 2010.

Masjid Jalan Paloh

One of Ipoh’s oldest mosques, Masjid Jalan Paloh traces its history to 1912. It was built by Wan Muhammad Saleh, superintendent of the penghulus and assistant collector of Land Revenue during the Frank Swettenham era, with funding from prominent figures such as Haji Long Mohd Kassim. After being rebuilt following his death, the present structure retains its original five‑tiered minaret and the founder’s mausoleum, which has a two‑tiered gabled roof surrounded by a half‑wall with balustrades. The mosque was originally known as Mohamedan.

Muhammadiah Mosque

Also called Masjid Muhammadiah or the Chinese Mosque, this place of worship in Taman Tasek Jaya originated from a 1973 madrasah. A small prayer hall was upgraded to a mosque in 2007, and a new building constructed between 2011 and 2013 cost four million Malaysian ringgit. It was inaugurated by Sultan Nazrin Shah on 18 July 2014.

Panglima Kinta Mosque

Built in 1898 in memory of the founder’s wife, the Panglima Kinta Mosque was erected by Datoh Panglima Kinta Muhamad Yusuff bin Lassam, who held the title Lord of Kinta. After his wife Saaidah bt Chik passed away the same year, the mosque was raised to honour her and later expanded to include a burial area, a madrasah, ablution facilities, a balai lintang and quarters for mosque officials.

Perak Tong

Perak Tong is a Buddhist cave temple whose prayer space sits inside a natural limestone cave, combining worship with striking rock scenery.

Surau As‑Syakirin

Surau As‑Syakirin is identified in references as a local mosque in Ipoh.

Raja Nazrin Shah Mosque

Construction of the Raja Nazrin Shah Mosque began on 9 January 1996 on land set aside by the Malaysian government for mosque development around Ipoh. It was inaugurated by Raja Nazrin Shah Ibni Sultan Azlan Muhibuddin Shah, then Raja Muda of Perak, on 12 June 1998 (17 Safar 1419 Hijri) and covers about three acres.

Saint John’s Church

Saint John’s Church is one of Ipoh’s places of worship and offers a quiet spot for reflection.

St Michael’s Church

Completed in 1896, St Michael’s Church was the first Christian church built in Ipoh and remains a key landmark of the city’s early Christian heritage.

Explore Ipoh with Neywo’s free audio guide

Neywo provides a free audio guide for Ipoh featuring 18 narrated places. The app includes one walking tour: “Tin, Faith and the Kinta River: Ipoh’s Old Town,” which is 4.22 km long, takes about 100 minutes and stops at eight sites—Darul Ridzuan Museum, Saint John’s Church, Town Padang Mosque, Sultan Idris Shah Mosque, Han Chin Pet Soo, Panglima Kinta Mosque, Masjid Jalan Paloh, Ipoh, and Wesley Methodist Church, Ipoh. Narration is available in 11 languages. As you walk, the app plays the story of each location exactly when you reach it, letting you go at your own pace with no group and no schedule. Download Neywo to enjoy Ipoh’s heritage, art and nature at your leisure.