What are the best places to visit if you only have one day to visit in Kuala Selangor?
We recently spent some time in Kuala Selangor and decided to aim for the best instead of hitting all the places to visit listed in some traveling guides.
Here are the five activities we had completed in Kuala Selangor within a day, with ample time to have lunch, and returned to Kuala Lumpur on the same day in the evening.
We want to share our experience with you and wish it serves as a reference to you when you plan your day trip to Kuala Lumpur.
To maximize our time in a day, we start our trip early in the morning from Kuala Lumpur, reaching the Sky Mirror Jetty just within an hour.
Make sure to watch our visit Kuala Selangor video! It is at the end of this article.
1. Sky Mirror
Sky Mirror (also called Sasaran Beach Sky Mirror) is undoubtedly the top destination in Kuala Selangor. It was an uncharted, mysterious destination that was only known to a few locals in the past. It is a hidden gem amidst the sea submerged under the water most of the time.
The best time to visit is during low tide, usually early mornings, when the large sandbank emerges above the water, creating an enormous beach-like sandbank out of nowhere. Our tour guide told me that this mysterious temporary island is huge, the size of 20 football fields. However, the phenomenon only happens a few days every month and only for a few hours each day. He said the boatman relied on GPS to locate the Sky Mirror, as it could not be seen with naked eyes.
We left the jetty and set sail to this mysterious location. The weather was perfect, with a light blue sky with some dainty see-through clouds. We sat on the wooden benches on both sides of the boat with no shelter. The morning shimmering sunlight was blinding, and the strong breeze blew on everyone’s face with an uplifting vibe.
After about 25 minutes of the boat ride, the miracle happens. First, we suddenly saw someone standing at sea. Then, as the water receded, we realized that the man was standing on the emerging sandbank.
Once we were on the Sky Mirror, our photographer quickly made some preparations before the photo session. The natural reflection is not perfect, though, as the receding seawater had caused many raised ridges. That includes smoothening the sand with a shallow puddle of water to achieve a mirror-like reflection.
He took some stunning photographs with perfect mirror images for everyone.
Sky Mirror is also rich in marine life. I looked down while enjoying the view and taking creative photographs, as there were tiny crabs and baby clams under my feet.
Colorful clothes other than blue are recommended to make you stand out from the blue background of the sky and sea. Remember to bring along sunscreen, as there is nowhere to hide. In addition, a colorful umbrella is helpful to protect yourself from the sun and double up as a prop to take beautiful photos.
The scenery is spectacular. The sandbank was seamlessly merged into the sea, as your eyes are struggling to locate where the sandbank ended.
We walked to the ‘beach.’ Sandals or slippers may be helpful, but we preferred to walk barefoot on the sand.
As a big black thunderous cloud was approaching from the far horizon, we had to prepare to leave Sky Mirror before the downpour. The return trip was rough. The boat swayed unsteadily once hut the open sea again. Finally, we were back at the jetty safely and looking forward to the next destination. Sri Shakti Temple.
We booked the tour with Sky Mirror Tour & Travel Sdn Bhd, which was quite a pleasant experience. The tour was well-organized, and you can book other tours with them at Kuala Selangor apart from Sky Mirror. It is best to check with their website to find out the time of departure to Sky Mirror as each day is different to get the best experience during low tide. Book early, especially on public holidays, as it can be pretty full.
2. Sri Shakti Dhevasthanam Temple
Sri Shakti Temple is located at Bukit Rotan, about fifteen minutes from Kuala Selangor town. It is one of the most magnificent Hindu temples in Malaysia.
There were quite a few visitors today, likely because it was a weekday.
This Hindu temple rises majestically as a prominent Hindu landmark in Malaysia. The entrance is via a magnificent Rajagopuram (multi-tiered main gateway shrine) which soared to 74 feet.
This magnificent Hindu temple is surrounded by a perfectly sculpted beautifully chiseled palisade wall carved with lions, elephants, and other intricate sculptures.
Photography is prohibited inside the temple. So I could only take the photographs near the entrance and some aerial shots with my drone.
The architecture inside is exquisite and detailed. There are 51 Shakti statues along with the temple’s internal corridor. It is the only temple in the world where all manifestations of 51 Shaktis are installed.
A brief history
According to the temples’ webpage, the Indian immigrants in the late 19th or early 20th century constructed a small wooden shrine in Bukit Rotan as their place of workshop. Initially called Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, now known as the Sri Shakti Dhevasthanam.
The temple took four years to build. Skilled artisans were brought in from India to work on the project, which involves approximately 1.2 million man-hours, 10 million bricks, 20,000 tons of steel bars, 1,500 cubic meters of concrete, 100 tons of granite, and 25 tons of teakwood. The temple was fully ordained and completed for devotees to visit in May 2013
3. Experience An Eagle Feeding Session
One of the best things we did at Kuala Selangor was experience the eagle feeding session. We booked our tour with Sky Mirror Tour & Travel Sdn Bhd, the same tour company we used for the Sky Mirror tour.
The eagle session is in the evening, around 5 pm. We took the speedboat ride to the estuary of Sungai Selangor and had already spotted a few eagles circling in the sky. So it seemed they were already anticipating someone would offer them the evening snacks.
Once our boatman throws some chicken into the sea, the eagle seems to know from far, and there is a massive number of eagles swooping down and trying to outwit each other for a share of the chicken meat.
I refer to a few hundreds of eagles that skim over the water’s surface, flying over our head and making some loud noise.
Besides eagles, there were many seagulls, and surprisingly, the eagles let the seagulls have their share and did not fight for food.
It was one of our best experiences in Kuala Selangor. I highly recommend it.
4. Kuala Selangor Nature Park
If you like trekking or bird watching, head to the Kuala Selangor Nature Park before leaving Kuala Selangor and bringing back some fond memories.
The park is perfect for nature lovers. It has two main sections of the over 200 hectares of vast tropical secondary rainforest and the swamp forest. It is the habitat of over 150 local birds and other wildlife species.
We followed the trail in the forest, then took the boardwalk at the mangrove area, more than 2km for the round trip.
This place is also the sanctuary for the endangered Silvered Leaf Monkey. They were tamed and obedient. We saw someone distributed, and they were patiently waiting for their turn.
- Address: Taman Alam Kuala Selangor,, Jalan Klinik, 45000, Kuala Selangor
- Phone: +603 3289 2294
- Opening hours: 9.00 am – 6.00 pm daily
- Entrance fees: RM4.00 for adult
5. Food and shopping
Kuala Selangor is a small town known for fresh seafood. The seafood offered is freshness assured as it is located near the sea, and most of the seafood restaurants are just along the riverbank of Selangor River.
We had seafood dinner at Kuala Sungai (Aah Yu) Restaurant (港口海鲜) at Pasir Panambang, as the owner is the cook itself. Foods are fresh and at an affordable price.
We also visited Ah Ma House, a traditional bakery specializing in making Chinese bakery items. One of my favorite items is the egg waffle (kuih kapit). Besides that, many conventional Malaysian local snacks, biscuits, and desserts were also available.
The traditional furniture and decades-old appliances made me feel like traveling back in time to half a century ago. It is also a great place to take photographs.
- Address: 213 Jalan Besar Seksyen 3, Pekan Pasir Penambang, 45000 Kuala Selangor
- Tel: +6 012-389 9888
We dropped by Auntie Foo cafe located in the town center of Kuala Selangor. It is a coffee shop cum souvenir store.
- Address: No. 1, Jalan Raja Abdullah, 45000 Kuala Selangor, Selangor, Malaysia.
- Tel: +6 03-3281 1939
- Open: 8.30 am – 6.30 pm
6. Firefly watching
The firefly trip was a little disappointing as the number of fireflies was not as expected, but our brilliant guides took us to see gala shrimp catching and the sleeping stork on the tree, which is eye-opening.
7. Other historical sites and attractions
You may want to go to the following places if you plan to stay overnight.
- The Blue Tears Phenomenon can be found where the Selangor River meets the Straits of Malacca. You will be delighted by the fantastic bioluminescence due to the plankton that emits blue-green light at night. The best time to see this phenomenon is the first few days of the lunar calendar, with the dark sky and high tide. Since it is pretty dark at night, you need an excellent camera to capture the blue illumination of the algae.
- Bukit Melawati (Melawati Hill) was once the administrative center during the Selangor Sultanate, later renamed Altingsburd Fort. It is the relic of the past, with a couple of leftover cannons remaining on top of the hill. There is also an Altingsburg lighthouse over there. You may also want to visit the royal burial ground, the Royal Mausoleum at Bukit Melawati.
Our trip to Kuala Selangor ended here. Sea, river, and forest, Kuala Selangor has them all. This is the place to visit to get close to nature.
Watch how we spent 3D2N in Kuala Selangor
If you have come so far reading this blog post, don’t miss out on the video we shot during our visit to Kuala Selangor. Click the image below to watch on YouTube (shot in high definition!).
Other best places you should visit in Malaysia
You may also want to read other noteworthy places to visit in Malaysia. Here are two places we have visited lately.
- Taman Negara is the National park of Malaysia. It is a must-visit travel destination for nature lovers and casual travelers alike.
- Malacca is a noteworthy UNESCO World Heritage city and a must-visit destination in Malaysia. Read our 3D2N travel gude here.