Kuala Lumpur Travel Guide

Kuala Lumpur, or simply KL, is the capital of Malaysia.

Literally meaning "muddy estuary" in Malay, KL has grown from a small sleepy Chinese tin-mining village to a bustling metropolis of around 6.5 million in just 150 years. With some of the world's cheapest 5-star hotels, great shopping and even better food, increasing numbers of travellers are discovering this little gem of a city.

Kuala Lumpur is a sprawling city and its residential suburbs seem to go on forever. The city also merges with the adjacent towns of Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam, Klang and Port Klang, creating a huge conurbation called the Klang Valley.

The city can be divided into the following areas, each of which offers a particular attraction or activity. (more)

The city can be divided into the following areas, each of which offers a particular attraction or activity.

This district also merges into the northern part of Petaling Jaya.

Founded only in 1857 as a tin mining outpost, Kuala Lumpur is fairly new as far as Malaysian cities go and lacks the rich history of George Town or Malacca. After rough early years marked by gang fighting, Kuala Lumpur started to prosper and was made capital of the Federated Malay States in 1896. Malaysia's independence was declared in 1957 in front of huge crowds at what was later named Stadium Merdeka, and Kuala Lumpur continued as the new nation's capital. The economic boom of the 1990s brought KL the standard trappings of a modern city, bristling with skyscrapers and modern transportation systems. Like most of Malaysia's big cities, about 55% of Kuala Lumpur's population is of Malaysian Chinese descent.

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