Selangor is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is a hereditary constitutional monarchy. It is a highly developed state with the largest airport, port and some of the best educational institutions and modern medical facilities in the country.
Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah International Airport provides convenient access to Selangor from Thailand, Singapore and all parts of the Peninsula. The state also boasts one of the best infrastructures in the country and a very well connected road transport network.
Geographically it is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and overlooks the Strait of Malacca to the west. Most of the coast of Selangor is dotted with fishing villages.
Selangor completely surrounds the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, both of which were once under its sovereignty. The state capital is Shah Alam. Petaling Jaya is another major urban centre in the state making Selangor the only state after Sarawak with more than one metropolitan city.
Shah Alam is a city of splendour and every structure, every road tells the story of Malaysia’s development. A stellar example of its splendour is the Sultan Salahuhddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque one of the finest mosques to be found anywhere in the world. Completed in 1988, its minarets, at 142.3 meters, are the tallest in the world. The graceful blue dome with its decorative Islamic calligraphy seems to dominate the entire city. Its exquisitely carved timber pulpit is a masterpiece of artisans from Kelantan. The architecture is a beautiful mix of Malay and Moorish design elements.
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For a day of leisure there’s the Shah Alam Lake Gardens, the site of the International Boat Show and the Selangor Orchid Exhibition. The delightful man-made lake is dotted with picnic areas and has a floating seafood restaurant.
The city itself is noted for its rubber and oil palm estates.
All roads lead to Selangor from Kuala Lumpur, literally and historically. Selangor enjoys a vantage location being ideally located halfway between the national capital, KL, and the viable Port Klang. Klang was once the capital city of Selangor. The town's oldest building, Gedung Raja Abdullah, is built in traditional Malay style, and is located at the centre of Klang. It overlooks the Klang River and controls access to the tin rich Klang valley. Erected as a warehouse by Raja Mahdi in 1856. It now serves as a historical museum, with interesting exhibits on the bygone days of this former capital. The royal capital of Selangor still is Klang.
The sultanate palace used to be at Kuala Selangor, located 45 km north of Klang at the mouth of Selangor. The old twin fortresses atop two of the town's hills still guard the river mouth. The larger of the two, standing on Bukit Melawati, is now the royal mausoleum, containing the remains of Selangor's early Bugis rulers. The fortresses are living examples of the state’s wealthy and powerful reign due to its tin trade.
At the foot of Bukit Melawati lies the 240-hectare nature reserve of Taman Alam. The reserve has well-marked jungle trails for trekking as well as observation hides for watching its abundant migratory bird population. The Malaysia Nature Society has identified some 150 species amongst them like he rare spoon-billed Sandpiper and Nordmann's Greenshank.
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Shah Alam is about 25 kilometres west of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. It replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor due to Kuala Lumpur's incorporation into a Federal Territory in 1974. 13kms north of Kuala Lumpur are the magnificent Batu caves, a major sight seeing and pilgrimage spot because of the Hindu shrine beneath the 100 m vaulted ceiling of the largest of the three caves. The temple or Cathedral Cave, as it is known, is thronged by thousands of devotees from all over the nation during the Hindu festival of Thaipusam, in January. Men, women and children alike climb the long flights of stairs to the shrine. Some even carry Kavadis, brightly decorated frameworks attached to a melange of body-piercing implements, as a form of penance.
The third cave, located at the foot of the steps, houses an interesting display of statues and wall paintings depicting scenes and figures from Hindu mythology. A little below the Temple Cave is the Dark Cave comprising of relatively untouched caverns with some diverse cave fauna and some unique species. Access to these caves requires a special permit from the Malaysian Nature Society.
Just 10 minutes from Shah Alam is the 1,258-hectare Malaysia Agriculture Park, the largest agro-forestry park in the world. The park contains samples of virtually every agricultural resource in the nation, including oil and coconut palms, paddy fields, fruit trees, and rubber trees, in a luscious rain forest. The park has numerous open-air exhibits, live demonstrations, nature trails, and a host of educational programs for visitors and a useful insight into the nation’s rich natural attributes. Tourists can rent bicycles to ride around and view the other sights in the park like dams, fishing lakes including a Temperate House, suspension bridge and a safari park. Buses are available on weekends only. There are chalets at very reasonable rates of RM30 per night. There is also a nominal admission fee RM2 for adults and RM1 for children.
Nature abounds in Selangor - a relative contrast from its neighbour Kuala Lumpur, predominantly a concrete jungle. Double click the map for a closer look at Selangor!
