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Why Should You Add Putrajaya to Your Itinerary for Malaysia?
If you’re visiting Malaysia for a few days, the futuristic city of Putrajaya is the country’s administrative center and makes for an easy day trip from Kuala Lumpur. It beckons with spiffy new buildings surrounded by lush green landscapes. In fact, Putrajaya has some of the most striking and memorable architecture you’ll see in the country. Even the traffic lights and street lamps look they’ve been taken out of a science fiction movie.
Read on for an overview of how to get to Putrajaya, what you can see and eat while you’re there, and other sightseeing options to consider while you’re in the region.
How to Get to Putrajaya
If you’re staying in Kuala Lumpur, you have a few options for getting to and from Putrajaya. One convenient way is to simply call an Uber, which is easily accessible in the area.
Another way to get to Putrajaya entails taking the rail and train. Take the rail to Kuala Lumpur Sentral, the biggest transit hub in Malaysia; you may already be familiar with it if you took it from the airport to where you’re staying in Kuala Lumpur.
At Kuala Lumpur Sentral, you can buy a KLIA Ekspres rail ticket to Putrajaya, then hop on another bus to get to your intended destination in the city.
10 Things to See and Do on a Putrajaya, Malaysia Itinerary
Convention Center
If you take the L15 bus south to Putrajaya, you can see the spaceship-like figure of the Putrajaya International Convention Center and several bridges of different styles en route. The Convention Center is a bit out of the way, so I wouldn’t necessarily take time out of your day to stop and see its interior; just keep an eye out for it to see the exterior.
Palace of Justice
I’d recommend riding the bus until you arrive at the modernist Islamic Istana Kehakiman (Palace of Justice), a long sprawling structure with arches and four small domes encircling a much larger one.
You can take a walk through the ornate interior of the Palace of Justice and look through its museum of Malaysian law, with information displays and mannequins arranged to mimic court proceedings.
Perbadanan Putrajaya
Look across from the Palace of Justice to see the steel lattice framework of the Islamic gateway, Perbadanan Putrajaya.
Tuanku Mizan Abidin Mosque (The Iron Mosque)
Walk through the gateway, and just past it you’ll see orderly rows of flower beds and a checkerboard area of alternating pavement and grass and neatly trimmed hedges, culminating in the Tuanku Mizan Abidin Mosque (also known as the Iron Mosque). The mosque’s cavernous interior has soaring ceilings.
Putra Mosque
You can take another bus up to the pink and white Safavid-style Putra Mosque, with its striking dome and soaring minaret. The mosque can hold up to 15,000 people. Spend some time walking along the promenade and around the mosque.
Wawasan Bridge
From outside of the Iron Mosque and the Putra Mosque, you can enjoy good views of the sea and sail-shaped Wawasan Bridge.
Perdana Putra
Check out the Perdana Putra offices of the Prime Minister and the gardens nearby. You probably can’t go inside Perdana Putra, but it’s another interesting landmark.
What to Eat in Putrajaya
At the shopping center near Putra Mosque, you can stop for lunch at one of the restaurants. During my visit, I had an unremarkable lunch of chicken, rice, lettuce, and soup for less than $2.
What was really extraordinary was the dessert—a giant bowl of a dish called cendol (pronounced “chen-dohl”), made from green rice flour, ice shavings, coconut milk, kidney beans, corn, and lychees or longuns. I highly recommend trying it during your stay in Putrajaya.
You may also see advertisements for an interesting food called Roti John. This is some kind of hot dog covered in cheese sauce. I didn’t try it so I can’t speak to its quality.
Taman Wetland
Not far from Putra Square, you can visit nature trails of Taman Wetland. Bikes and kayaks can be rented here if you’re so inclined. Otherwise, just walk up and down the trails and admire some of the wildlife of the wetlands.
Taman Botani
North of downtown Putrajaya, you can explore the gardens and Moroccan Pavilion of Taman Botani. It’s the biggest botanic garden in the country. Taman Botani offers another good restaurant option at its lakeside restaurant.
Onward from Putrajaya
After you’ve had your fill of Putrajaya, you can take an Uber public transportation back to your hotel in Kuala Lumpur. With more time in the country, you have many other sightseeing options to choose from elsewhere in Malaysia. For another fun day trip, take a journey out to the city of Melaka. Alternatively, set aside some more time in your itinerary for Malaysia to explore Kuala Lumpur.
With more time in the region, you may want to travel out to other countries in Southeast Asia. You might see a primeval rainforest, mosques, and a water village in Brunei.
In Vietnam, you can take a cruise on Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay, or trek through the rice terraces of Sapa.