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Respite in the city: KL Forest Eco Park

Respite in the city: KL Forest Eco Park

September 27, 2017

KL Forest Eco Park is a tiny speckle of greenery in Bukit Nanas, just below the KL Tower that looms over the city. Many don’t know that there is a canopy walk suitable even for the little ones, and the trails on the hill are short and extremely child-friendly. There are stairs, though, so leave the stroller at home.

Apparently 9 hectares of eco park remain today of the greenery gazetted in the early 1900s. The canopy walk is about 200 metres long, so it’s suitable for even those with limited walking capacity. With energetic jumping beans-type children you can probably make it up the canopy walk and back down in half an hour, but can easily meander longer along the hilly paths.

The recent closure of FRIM’s canopy walk was a bit of a blow to many and while Bukit Nanas is by no means a serious hiking destination and the backdrop of concrete jungle is quite a contrast to the greenery, it is still a nice place to bring the kids for a bit of walking and a feel of the forest, bugs and birds.

The other end of the KL Forest Eco Park trail is at KL Tower, right by the Upside Down House. If you are into fun photo ops, this may be a nice stop but we thought the entry was a bit pricey just to snap a few family selfies. For a family of four with no mykads you will have to fork out MYR70, the local price is MYR15 for adults and MYR10 for kids. Under 3’s are free.

If you are coming from KL Tower, to reach the forest and canopy walk, cross the road near the Upside Down House and enter the paths by this sign.

You can also park at the bottom of Bukit Nanas at the (paid) open air car park near Old Malaya restaurants on Jalan Raja Chulan. From there the trail is well marked. Old Malaya, by the way, is an atmospheric spot for a notch up family meal – the pizzas at Luce Osteria are a big hit with our two.

For more information, head over to the official website of the KL Forest Eco Park. Currently the park and canopy walk are free, but we have heard rumours that entry charges will be introduced at some point. Here is a little video of our walk:

If you are looking for nature activities in Malaysia, check out this post.

Lattemama

Kirsi aka Lattemama left behind the cooler Nordic climates six years ago, and her two kids have grown to think of KL as home and regularly end their sentences with “lah”. She loves a good coffee and a book but after juggling work and taxi duties often ends up with a glass of wine and a sitcom instead. She appreciates the generous public holidays of Malaysia and loves to use them for exploring the region with the family.