Places Malaysia : Places of Interest in Kelantan, Malaysia

Historical Sites Most historical places in Kelantan is located along the northern part of Sultanah Zainab Road in Kota Bahru or nearby this road. Some of them are Jahar Palace, Merdeka Square, War Museum, Pitis Bank and Royal Museum / Batu Palace. Handicraft Village and Tourist Information Centre is also nearby, just a short distance from Royal Museum. Handicraft Village has kampung kind of houses showing different states. However, they are not opened. Not well maintained. Another place that showcase historical information is the State Museum, located beside a five-way roundabout, a little south of the main bus terminal. The oldest mosque in Kelantan is Kampung Laut Mosque which originally was located in Kampung Laut, Tumpat. Now, it is located in Nilam Puri, a little south of Kota Bahru.	Places of worship Kelantan is one of Malaysia's so called 'Islamic State'. Therefore, there surely will have many mosques. Some of the popular mosques are Al-Muhammadi Mosque, Al-Baroah Mosque and Kampung Laut Mosque. Kelantan has many buddhist temples but the popular ones are mostly in Tumpat. Some of them are Wat Phothivihan, Wat Machimmaran, Wat Pikulthong and Wat Mai Suwankhiri. There is also one chinese temples called Wat Cheng very near Wat Pikulthong. As for churches, I did not take notice of any.	Useful Information Transport Schedule Useful Contacts Accommodation Other Interests : (Only temples, churches and mosques available) About Malaysia Temples, Mosques, Churches, Heritage Sites & Buildings, Hill Resorts, Beach Resorts, National Parks, Hiking, Diving / Snorkelling, Water Rafting, Caving Dining, Shopping, Education, Health & Beauty, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Places of Interest List In Kota Bahru Jahar Palace Royal Museum Handicraft Museum Merdeka Square War Museum Kampung Laut Mosque In Tumpat Wat Phothivihan Wat Machimmaran Wat Pikulthong Wat Mai Suwankhiri Other Places
Nature Sites The south-east part of Kelantan is part of the National Park (Taman Negara). This is a good place for bird watching, camping, canoeing and trekking and hiking. One interesting spot is the 'Ara Circle' where tourist can walk under the roots of a giant Ara tree. Tourists can also visit the settlement of Batek indigenous people. Another nature site is the Stong State Park in Kuala Krai District. This state park has Stong Mount which stands at 1,433m. After hiking this mountain for about two hours (some may take much longer), tourists can see a seven-tier waterfall about 303m called Jelawang Waterfall, said to be the highest in Southeast Asia. Tourist can camp at Baha camp at the peak of the waterfall. There are many caves in Kelantan on the east side of Titiwangsa Range. One popular cave near Dabong in Kuala Krai is Fish Cave which was said to have treasures during Japanese occupation.Other caves near here are Keris Cave, Dark Hole Cave or Gua Batu Susun and Gate Cave. Nenggiri River near Setar town in Gua Musang District is a good place for rafting and cruising. There are aboriginal settlements and wetland animals along this river. A short distance from Jeli town is a hot springs called Jeli Hot Springs.	Beach Resorts There are some popular beaches in Kelantan. The most popular one near Kota Bahru is Beach of Moonlight. I did not managed to visit this beach when I was there as I prefer museums and was short of time. The beach that I went to was Pantai Sabak which has no beach but just rocks as retaining wall. It is said that this Sabak Beach is a fishing village and busy around 3:00 pm. One popular beach in Kelantan is Beach of Seven Lagoons. This beach is located in Tumpat and holds the International Kite Festival annually.
Kota Bahru Kota Bahru is the capital of Kelantan State. Transportation is ok with buses, taxis and 'sapu' taxis (illegal taxis) near bus terminal. In fact, some 'sapu' taxis will drive-up to bus stands and ask if anybody wants to take. Tourists sites and buildings in Kota Bahru are pretty easy to get to. Most museums are in Kota Bahru and they are located in the town centre, within walking distance. Kota Bahru has many budget hotels and with modern shopping complexes and shop house.	Tumpat Tumpat is a district in northern part of Kelantan with Thailand on its north-west. This place is special because it has many Malaysian of Siam decendents. I think they like to call themselves Siamese more than Thais. Thailand or previously called Siam is a buddhist country. Many of their decendents in Tumpat practice buddism. So, there are many buddhist temples in Tumpat. As I have a section on places of worship, I would not put the temples here.
About Kelantan, 'Cradle of Malay Culture' Kelantan is a state located south of Thailand, north of Terengganu and east of Kedah and Perak. Its latitute coordinate is about 5^o15'N and longitude coordinate is about 102^o'E. Kelantan has population of about 1,635,000 million (2009) with majority of them Malays, chinese, thai and indians. Majority of its people speak Bahasa Malaysia / Melayu most of the time. Kelantan has a land area of 14,922 km². The Main Range (Titiwangsa Range) passes through the western side of Kelantan. This made Kelantan rich in flora, fauna and also natural ecological structures like caves, lakes and rivers. The jungle consists mainly of tropical rainforest and mangroves forest. The main river there is Kelantan river. The KTM railway track passes through Kelantan from Tumpat station at the north to Gua Musang at the south. Kelantan state airport, Sultan Ismail Petra Airport is located at the north of Kota Bahru town. Tourist can take the bus that goes to Pantai Sabak to go to the airport. Passenger ferry terminal to Perhentian Island is located in Tok Bali Jetty. The main bus terminal is in Jalan Bandar, Kota Bahru (KB) and the main bus that travels between districts in Kelantan is Cityliner. These buses are usually inter-town buses such as KB to Pasir Mas, KB to Tumpat area, KB to Pasir Puteh, KB to Machang, KB to Kuala Krai, etc. Outstation express bus terminal is near Tesco along Jalan Hamzah. The Langgar Bus Terminal for outstation bus terminal at Jalan Pasir Puteh is for Transnational Group only. Fast Food outlets such as Kentucky, McDonald, A & W and Pizza Hut can be easily found.	History Of Kelantan The Kingdom of Kelantan started in about 1757 when Long Yunus from Patani was appointed as the Raja of Kelantan for his good relationship with Sultan Mansur of Terengganu. When Long Yunus passed away, a Terengganu prince was made the king but was opposed by Long Yunus's descendants. Long Yunus's descendants won and remained as the present royal family of Kelantan. Interesting facts about British and Japanese occupation in Kelantan can be seen in the War Museum. The first place that the Japanese soldiers landed in Malaysia was in Kelantan. Because the Siamese gave the Japanese soldiers passage to enter Malaya, Kelantan was taken over by the Japanese in a very short period.
Activities Jungle activities like trekking, hiking, caving and camping. Nature activities like bird watching. Cultural activities like giant top (gasing) spinning, Dikir Barat, Wayang Kulit or Shadow Puppet Play and Silat. Handicraft work like making of batik and songket, weaving of pandanus leaves, woodcarving and making and flying wau / giant kite.

Historical Sites

Most historical places in Kelantan is located along the northern part of Sultanah Zainab Road in Kota Bahru or nearby this road. Some of them are Jahar Palace, Merdeka Square, War Museum, Pitis Bank and Royal Museum / Batu Palace.

Handicraft Village and Tourist Information Centre is also nearby, just a short distance from Royal Museum. Handicraft Village has kampung kind of houses showing different states. However, they are not opened. Not well maintained.

Another place that showcase historical information is the State Museum, located beside a five-way roundabout, a little south of the main bus terminal.

The oldest mosque in Kelantan is Kampung Laut Mosque which originally was located in Kampung Laut, Tumpat. Now, it is located in Nilam Puri, a little south of Kota Bahru.

Places of worship

Kelantan is one of Malaysia's so called 'Islamic State'. Therefore, there surely will have many mosques. Some of the popular mosques are Al-Muhammadi Mosque, Al-Baroah Mosque and Kampung Laut Mosque.

Kelantan has many buddhist temples but the popular ones are mostly in Tumpat. Some of them are Wat Phothivihan, Wat Machimmaran, Wat Pikulthong and Wat Mai Suwankhiri. There is also one chinese temples called Wat Cheng very near Wat Pikulthong.

As for churches, I did not take notice of any.

Useful Information
Transport Schedule
Useful Contacts
Accommodation

Other Interests : (Only temples, churches and mosques available)

About Malaysia
Temples, Mosques, Churches,
Heritage Sites & Buildings,
Hill Resorts, Beach Resorts, National Parks,
Hiking, Diving / Snorkelling, Water Rafting, Caving
Dining, Shopping, Education, Health & Beauty,

,

,

Places of Interest List
In Kota Bahru

In Tumpat

Other Places

Nature Sites

The south-east part of Kelantan is part of the National Park (Taman Negara). This is a good place for bird watching, camping, canoeing and trekking and hiking. One interesting spot is the 'Ara Circle' where tourist can walk under the roots of a giant Ara tree. Tourists can also visit the settlement of Batek indigenous people.

Another nature site is the Stong State Park in Kuala Krai District. This state park has Stong Mount which stands at 1,433m. After hiking this mountain for about two hours (some may take much longer), tourists can see a seven-tier waterfall about 303m called Jelawang Waterfall, said to be the highest in Southeast Asia. Tourist can camp at Baha camp at the peak of the waterfall.

There are many caves in Kelantan on the east side of Titiwangsa Range. One popular cave near Dabong in Kuala Krai is Fish Cave which was said to have treasures during Japanese occupation.Other caves near here are Keris Cave, Dark Hole Cave or Gua Batu Susun and Gate Cave.

Nenggiri River near Setar town in Gua Musang District is a good place for rafting and cruising. There are aboriginal settlements and wetland animals along this river.

A short distance from Jeli town is a hot springs called Jeli Hot Springs.

Beach Resorts

There are some popular beaches in Kelantan. The most popular one near Kota Bahru is Beach of Moonlight. I did not managed to visit this beach when I was there as I prefer museums and was short of time.

The beach that I went to was Pantai Sabak which has no beach but just rocks as retaining wall. It is said that this Sabak Beach is a fishing village and busy around 3:00 pm.

One popular beach in Kelantan is Beach of Seven Lagoons. This beach is located in Tumpat and holds the International Kite Festival annually.

Kota Bahru

Kota Bahru is the capital of Kelantan State. Transportation is ok with buses, taxis and 'sapu' taxis (illegal taxis) near bus terminal. In fact, some 'sapu' taxis will drive-up to bus stands and ask if anybody wants to take.

Tourists sites and buildings in Kota Bahru are pretty easy to get to. Most museums are in Kota Bahru and they are located in the town centre, within walking distance.

Kota Bahru has many budget hotels and with modern shopping complexes and shop house.

Tumpat

Tumpat is a district in northern part of Kelantan with Thailand on its north-west. This place is special because it has many Malaysian of Siam decendents. I think they like to call themselves Siamese more than Thais.

Thailand or previously called Siam is a buddhist country. Many of their decendents in Tumpat practice buddism. So, there are many buddhist temples in Tumpat. As I have a section on places of worship, I would not put the temples here.

About Kelantan, 'Cradle of Malay Culture'

Kelantan is a state located south of Thailand, north of Terengganu and east of Kedah and Perak. Its latitute coordinate is about 5^o15'N and longitude coordinate is about 102^o'E. Kelantan has population of about 1,635,000 million (2009) with majority of them Malays, chinese, thai and indians. Majority of its people speak Bahasa Malaysia / Melayu most of the time.

Kelantan has a land area of 14,922 km². The Main Range (Titiwangsa Range) passes through the western side of Kelantan. This made Kelantan rich in flora, fauna and also natural ecological structures like caves, lakes and rivers. The jungle consists mainly of tropical rainforest and mangroves forest. The main river there is Kelantan river.

The KTM railway track passes through Kelantan from Tumpat station at the north to Gua Musang at the south. Kelantan state airport, Sultan Ismail Petra Airport is located at the north of Kota Bahru town. Tourist can take the bus that goes to Pantai Sabak to go to the airport. Passenger ferry terminal to Perhentian Island is located in Tok Bali Jetty.

The main bus terminal is in Jalan Bandar, Kota Bahru (KB) and the main bus that travels between districts in Kelantan is Cityliner. These buses are usually inter-town buses such as KB to Pasir Mas, KB to Tumpat area, KB to Pasir Puteh, KB to Machang, KB to Kuala Krai, etc.

Outstation express bus terminal is near Tesco along Jalan Hamzah. The Langgar Bus Terminal for outstation bus terminal at Jalan Pasir Puteh is for Transnational Group only.

Fast Food outlets such as Kentucky, McDonald, A & W and Pizza Hut can be easily found.

History Of Kelantan

The Kingdom of Kelantan started in about 1757 when Long Yunus from Patani was appointed as the Raja of Kelantan for his good relationship with Sultan Mansur of Terengganu. When Long Yunus passed away, a Terengganu prince was made the king but was opposed by Long Yunus's descendants. Long Yunus's descendants won and remained as the present royal family of Kelantan.

Interesting facts about British and Japanese occupation in Kelantan can be seen in the War Museum. The first place that the Japanese soldiers landed in Malaysia was in Kelantan. Because the Siamese gave the Japanese soldiers passage to enter Malaya, Kelantan was taken over by the Japanese in a very short period.

Activities

Jungle activities like trekking, hiking, caving and camping.

Nature activities like bird watching.

Cultural activities like giant top (gasing) spinning, Dikir Barat, Wayang Kulit or Shadow Puppet Play and Silat.

Handicraft work like making of batik and songket, weaving of pandanus leaves, woodcarving and making and flying wau / giant kite.