Perlis 3D2N Travelogue – Top Attractions & Food Recommendations

Perlis is the Northern most state in Peninsular Malaysia and is also the smallest by area. Not many locals visit here due to its location far North despite it having the closest sea route to Langkawi, one of Malaysia’s most popular tourist destination.  

I had a chance to spend a few days in Perlis last week thanks to Jannice and Yin Fang who hosted me at their hometown. I find Perlis to be a very beautiful place with vast paddy fields all over which is so soothing to the eye. Hopefully this piece will get more people, especially local Malaysians to know more about Perlis.

How to Get Here

Traveling to Perlis is best by car as it is the most convenient way to get around. If you have a local host (like I did) or plan to take GRAB to get around, you can take an ETS Train and alight at Arau Station or take an express bus to Kangar Bukit Lagi Bus Terminal. I usually book my train or bus rides from Easybook.com.

Where to Stay in Perlis

There are many hotels and guesthouses available in Perlis. The one I stayed and highly recommend is Hotel Sooguan located at Jejawi, Arau. This is because the hotel has rooms with paddy field views like this!

The price is very reasonable for a budget hotel and room was clean and comfy. It is a little bit old though but it’s definitely worth it for the view. Location wise is slightly far off from the city centre. But if you are driving, it won’t be an issue because the hotel is only about 10 minutes drive away from Kangar, the capital city of Perlis. 

Top Attractions You Should Visit in Perlis

Here I piece together my top 8 Perlis attractions which can be covered in 2 days at most. As Perlis is not a popular tourist destination, you can easily take tourist-less photos!

1. Paddy Fields

The main attraction of Perlis is hands down its beautiful paddy fields. They are everywhere. If you stay at Hotel Sooguan, you can literally wake up to these paddy fields. Typically the paddies were planted right after rainy season. So if you’d like to see golden paddy fields, it’s best to visit around 3 months after rainy season (maybe around March to May). I can’t recall how many times we stopped by the road side to take photos of these paddy fields. It just gets more and more beautiful. 

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2. Gua Kelam 

Gua Kelam is the most popular cave in Perlis and is located at about 25 minutes drive from Kangar. The interior of the limestone cave is well lit and there is a proper pathway for you to navigate through the cave. As we entered the cave we were greeted by the odour of Gua-no (bat poop). We also saw a couple of crystalized rock formations and some spiders lurking around.

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It took us about 15 minutes to get to the other end of the cave which opens up into a rear Secret Garden – very much like Kek Lok Tong Cave in Ipoh. 

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3. Drive Up to Wang Kelian Peak

One of the most memorable moments of our trip was the discovery of the route towards Wang Kelian peak. Wang Kelian is a mountain bordering Thailand. As you drive up the winding uphill road, you will see this gazebo and sign board when you are about to reach the peak. There is a small road on your left which leads to the peak of Wang Kelian where you can enjoy this breathtaking view of Perlis.

It is not easy to spot it if you don’t know about this route beforehand as it is hidden at your blind spot. We missed it and drove all the way down the foothill. Fortunately, thanks to the guidance of a petrol station staff, we were able to locate this route to the peak on our way back (it was on our right side as we headed back in the opposite direction). So make sure you don’t miss it!

4. Hiking to Gua Sami (Gua Cenderawasih)

Gua Sami or Gua Cenderawasih is a limestone cave hill located in Kangar. It is a popular hiking spot for locals as the view on the top is absolutely stunning. According to locals, there used to be monks meditating in this cave and hence, its name – Gua Sami.

You can park your car by the road side and walk towards the arch. Then, walk past the little water lily pond which should be on your left until you see the entrance.

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The hike are all steps so it didn’t take us long to reach the peak. I’d say around 20 minutes or so. There are a few gazebos along the way for us to rest. Those steps are pretty steep so if you are not feeling well, make full use of these gazebos before you proceed further. 

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Although Gua Sami is not that tall, I actually prefer the view up here to Wang Kelian because you can see all the green golden paddy fields. Just be careful when you take photos or selfies up here as there are not a lot of safety barriers.

5. Kuala Perlis

Kuala Perlis is located at the West of Perlis and is the ferry terminal gateway to Langkawi. It takes about 45 minutes to reach Langkawi from Kuala Perlis Ferry Terminal. You can drive to Lover’s Bridge 情人桥 (Jambatan Tuanku Syed Putra) and get a bird’s eye view the fishing village here.

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Another attraction nearby is the floating mosque – Masjid Al-Hussain. The mosque will only be seen as “floating” during high tide. We were a bit unlucky that when we visited the mosque it was low tide. So we revisited the mosque at night when the tide was back up to get a shot of the floating mosque.

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The next place that you should visit in Kuala Perlis is the stretch of beach just around the corner. The sunset here is quite spectacular.

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There is also a paddy field (“Paddyfeel”) near the beach where you can find a row of scarecrows set up for a recent event “Pusing Gila @ Perlis 玻璃市疯狂乱乱跑” (hopefully they don’t remove it). 

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6. Padang Besar Street Food & Shopping

Padang Besar is one of three border check points between Perlis and Thailand. As we arrived at Padang Besar, we saw quite a number of Thailand cars and Thai Muslims. The atmosphere here is akin to night markets where lots of cheap goods and street foods are sold. If you are in the mood to shop, you can check out Arked Niaga where they sell all kinds of stuffs such as clothing, toys, backpacks etc.  

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7. Timah Tasoh Dam

Timah Tasoh Dam was built to hold the water from upstream flowing from as far as Thailand to prevent flood to the downstream towns and villages of Perlis. Thus, it forms a huge man-made lake which can be seen from the peak of Wang Kelian. If the water cannot be contained further, the floodgates will be opened and we heard that it is a spectacular sight (not so fortunate for those downstream though). When we visited Timah Tasoh, the gates were closed so there wasn’t anything spectacular. We spent about 10 minutes and left. 

8. Tasik Melati

Tasik Melati is supposedly one of the tourist destination of Perlis. However, the place was pretty deserted when we went there. Nonetheless, it still makes an Instagram-worthy place especially the Chinese gazebos. I’m sure this place looks much better if we had come during a better weather. 

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Food Recommendations in Perlis

Now let’s move on to some of the food that I tried in Perlis. Thanks to Jannice and Yin Fang, I was able to savour some of the local favourite eateries in Perlis. Here are some of the food that you might want to try.

1. Hai Thien Seafood Restaurant 

Hai Thien Seafood Restaurant serve a wide range of Chinese food. Highly recommend to come here after catching the sunset at Kuala Perlis. The restaurants starts to get crowded with locals at about 7:30pm. 

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2. Ah Beng Laksa

This humble Laksa stall is one of the locals’ favourite go-to places for a simple meal or tea time. The Laksa served here comes in red and white, with red being the traditional Asam Laksa and white being a mixture of Asam Laksa with coconut milk. We tried the white Laksa and it was really delicious. They also serve red bean shaved ice for dessert. 

3. Nasi Kari Indonesia 阿华印尼咖喱饭

Don’t be fooled by the name, the curry rice here is quite different from those in Indonesia. In fact, it has some Siamese flavour to it. There are a variety of dishes for you to choose from (I remember just curry alone has four varieties). This local favourite has recently moved to the row of shops infront of Taman Mutiara (no longer at Jalan Jubli).

4. Cendol Pulut 

This little stall below a big tree along Lorong Meranti Bukit is frequently visited by locals especially students. I really like the texture of the pulut (glutinous rice) when it is chewed together with a spoon-full of Cendol. A very Nyonya-feel.  Besides Cendol Pulut, they also sell coconut milk soy beancurd (tau-fu-fah).

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5. Eaun Tong Kedai Kopi Breakfast & Char Kuey Teow

Looking for a place for a simple yet filling breakfast? Try the half-boiled egg toast bread and Char Kuey Teow at Eaun Tong Kedai Kopi, Kangar. When you get a mouth-full of half-boiled egg with toast bread, thank me later. The taste is heavenly! And the Char Kuey Teow is also very underrated. I’d say it is similar to those famous ones in Penang minus the lap cheong.

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6. Mahkota Restoran Chinese Food Court

This foodcourt in Kangar is one of the local’s favourite food hunting ground. There are two segments of the food court, one which opens during the day while the other which opens at night. There are plenty of food stalls to choose from so if you are staying in Kangar and running out of ideas for food, just come to Mahkota Restoran food court!

7. Seremban Siew Pow at Kedai Kopi Dan Makanan Embassi

This humble stall selling Seremban Siew Pow and all kinds of fresh bakeries is actually very famous in town as it has made it to the papers. I tried the Siew Pow, Polo Bun and Kaya Puff. The stall owner uncle was also very friendly. When he heard I came all the way from Johor, he gave me a few buns for free haha~

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So there you have it. A summary of things to do in Perlis and also some awesome food that you can savour when you visit Perlis. Special thanks to my friends Jannice and Yin Fang who spent 3 days bringing me around their hometown and show me the beautiful sights of Perlis. I truly had a great time enjoying the serene detoxifying atmosphere of Perlis and will surely be back again maybe when the paddy fields turn golden next year!