1. Chuping Sugarcane Plantation

Being a small town in Perlis, Chuping has its own uniqueness. It has a view of edgeless sugarcane plantations, covering more than 22,000 hectares of land, making it the largest sugarcane plantation in Malaysia. The Chuping Sugar Cane Plantation is located at the foot hill of Bukit Chuping and was formed as a joint venture of three organizations, namely the Felda Plantation Sdn Bhd, PPB Group Berhad and Syarikat Kilang Gula Felda Perlis in 1971. The sugarcane factory produces 5,500 metric tonnes of sugarcane per day during harvesting season and it’s open to public for visits and to learn more about sugarcane processing and making.

Many schools around Perlis often organize school trips to educate young children on how to process sugarcane. The harvesting season starts from December to June. Apart from plantation, Chuping is also known for its limestone hill, just as Bukit Chuping is. Many of the lime caves housed bats and the guano used to be processed as fertilizer for plantation for crops such as rice. Among others, the snake and reptile park is among the widely visited attractions. It’s the largest snake breeding and research center in Malaysia, housing more than 20 species of snake and other reptiles.

2. Gua Kelam (Kelam Cave)

One of the most unique caves in Malaysia as it’s a 370-metre long limestone cave where it’s famous for its ‘cave walk’. It’s among the favorites cave for the adventure seekers. You will enter from one end of the cave and come out at a different location. The only path in is via a wooden suspension bridge measuring 8 ft wide walkway. The hollow limestone path is believed to be the idea of an Englishman that converted this cave as a method of transporting tin from a mine near the stream entrance of Kaki Bukit. Today the walk path is brightly illuminated, where you can still find remnants of time mine operation inside. The sound of squeaking bat and dripping water from the stalactites may be soothing for some and spooky for others!

After a hard day work in the cave, you can drop by the Wang Kelian Sunday Market to quench your thirst; fill your stomach and get some souvenirs home too. The market itself has many segments, selling variety of goods including food, textile, handmade jewelry and others. Since Perlis located just at the Thai border, you can see there are a lot of Thais selling their local handmade goods. Hotel in Perlis is not luxurious, but suffice to have a comfortable rest.

3. Kota Kayang Museum

It has a very long and rich history before it finally became a museum in 1991. This 4.84 hectare land which the museum currently stands belonged to Syed Salim as a gift from Raja Syed Alwi. At the end of 19th century, Syed Salim built his residence and stayed with his family until it was sold to the state government. After that, the building becomes the official residence of British Advisors. During the Japanese occupation, the house became the Military Administration until 1945, where the Thai Military Government took over after independence, the government of Perlis took over and became the official residence to Chief Minister. Finally in 1991, the building was demolished and rebuilt, to be structurally identical to the previous building and converted it to a museum. The museum houses Islamic artifact, Perlis/Kedah craft and item belonging to the royal family. Hotels in Perlis are not luxurious, but suffice to provide a comfort rest with basic necessity.

4. Kuala Perlis

Kuala Perlis is a fishing town located at the estuary of Perlis River, the visit to the town will not be complete without tasting the local seafood dishes. Since Kuala Perlis Jetty is the main jetty connecting to Phuket (Thailand) and Langkawi Island, many visitors decided to stop by to look around the fishing town while tasting the freshest local seafood. Apart from seafood, Kuala Perlis is also well known for its famous ‘Laksa (noodle in milk curry)’. One of the attractions in town is the opportunity to see some old buildings and mosques, built on stilts over mangrove swamp. Though it’s a small fishing town, there is much to offers for recreation.

For nature’s lover, you can head down to the Perlis state park where you can enjoy bird watching, kayaking and even caving. It’s also well known for shopping paradise, and since Perlis is sharing the border with Thailand, you can get many local and Thailand products at a bargain price. Padang Besar is the favorite shopping spot for both locals and visitors from both countries, Malaysia and Thailand. Of cause you can learn more of the state history by visiting the Perlis State Museum.

5. Padang Besar

Padang Besar is a popular shopping heaven for both Malaysian and Thailand since 1960. Most visitors come by during the weekends to get their shopping supply, sometimes up thousands of visitors at one time. Though it’s not the glamour high end market, Padang Besar sure has its own charm. It is a blend of 2 neighboring countries cultures with many local products to offer. The range of products includes textile, fashion, handicraft, food, jewelry and ironware. Most Malaysian would visit the Complex Aked Niaga and Gapura Square, whereas the Thai prefer to shop at Jalan Besar. The easy accessibility to Padang Besar makes it even better for the Thai visitors, they just commute by train and the railway station is just next to the shopping area.

Apart from shopping, there are other activities in Perlis that draws the crowd from abroad and within the country. Within 20 mins drive, there are Gua Kelam (limestone cave), Chuping (largest sugar cane land), Perlis State Park and Timah-Tasoh Lake. Hotels in Perlis are basic and clean, though not posh and luxurious.

6. Perlis State Park (Taman Negeri Perlis)

The park is surrounded with beautiful, thick lush forest, sheer cliff faces and extensive cave system. The rich and extensive flora and fauna is now being protected and preserve for its biological diversity. Currently it’s believed to house more than 600 species of flora, 70 species of mammals, 200 species of birds and 35 reptile species. The main objective of the park is to protect, conserve, research, educate and recreation. It is no surprise that the park is heavily trek by nature lover, be it the day or night trekking along the Prince of Denmark and Rainforest trails. Due to its wide variety of bird species around, there are also many bird lovers whom will camp in the park for a couple of days, dedicating their time for bird watching.

Apart from the forestry and flora and fauna, limestone caves are the unique treasure of Perlis. Recite within the park compound, Wang Burma Cave are amongst the most explore cave. The whole exploration of the labyrinthine routes of Wang Burma Cave will take about 3-4hours, with a lot to see, including the stalactites, bat, centipedes and scorpions. The exploration gets more exciting when you have to squeeze through the narrow muddy tunnels. You can send a night in one of the hotels in Perlis. Although the hotels around are not luxury, but they are clean and comfortable, not forgetting the quiet and serene surrounding.

7. Snake and Reptile Farm

The Snake and Reptile Farm in Perlis is the only Snake Farm ever built in Malaysia. The farm is the major tourist attraction not only in Perlis, but the entire country, Malaysia. The main objective of the establishment of the Snake and Reptile Farm is to aid in the research in the production of anti – venom for local consumption by the Institute of Medical Research in Malaysia. It was established with a showcase of about 200 snakes of 34 different species from Malaysia and also the other parts of the world including King Cobra and python. Out of the 34 species, there are a total of 10 species that is poisonous. Reptiles that are to be seen lying around in the farm are crocodiles, monitor lizards and iguanas. The farm can be divided into two major parts, one with open air enclosures and a closed exhibit. For those brave hearted persons, you can have a picture or two with safe snakes coiling on your arm or shoulder under the assistance of the handlers and professionals in the farm.

There are also other famous tourist attractions in Perlis. They are Perlis Herbal Garden and Bird Park Perlis. There are also places of recreational such as Melati Lake (Tasik Melati) and Bukit Air Recreational Park (Hutan Lipur Bukit Air). All of these places are with 12 km from the north of Kangar. Hopping by one after the other will not take up too much time. Prices offered by the hotels in Perlis are affordable. Hotels that located near to the Snake and Reptile Farm are Eagle Park Resort and Putra Brasnama Hotel.