Penang Hill
A group of forested peaks above George Town, reached by funicular from Air Itam and at the centre of a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
Penang Hill
Penang Hill is a group of six peaks on Penang Island, with its funicular station at Air Itam, west of George Town's centre. The British established it in the late 1700s as a hill retreat, and its oldest building, the Convalescent Bungalow, dates from 1803. The highest point is Western Hill at 833 metres; Flagstaff Hill, which gives the hill its Malay name Bukit Bendera, is 735 metres. On 15 September 2021 the hill became the centre of the Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve, designated under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme, which covers 12,481 hectares of forest, coast and sea.
Explore Penang Hill on the map
City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.
At the top
Most of what visitors come for is within a short walk of the funicular's Upper Station.
Views
- Skywalk: an observation deck near the Upper Station looking over George Town, the mainland and both Penang bridges.
- The official site suggests the first funicular of the day for sunrise, and dusk for the city lights.
Heritage and worship
- Sri Aruloli Thirumurugan Temple: a hilltop Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Murugan, begun as a small shrine in the 1800s.
- Penang Hill Mosque (Masjid Bukit Bendera), the only mosque on the hill.
- Penang Hill Gallery@Edgecliff: a heritage bungalow turned visitor gallery on the hill's history, biodiversity and funicular.
- A wooden replica of the first-generation funicular coach that ran from 1923 to 1977.
- The gate house of Bel Retiro, built in 1789 for the governor of Penang.
Nature
- Four signposted nature walk trails from the Upper Station, between 1.5 km and 3.1 km long.
- The Habitat: a privately run rainforest discovery centre at the forest edge, with its own separate admission.
Up by funicular
The usual way up is the Penang Hill Railway from the Lower Station on Jalan Stesen Bukit Bendera, Air Itam.
The funicular
- The railway opened on 1 January 1924; the current third-generation system was commissioned in 2011.
- The track is about two kilometres long and a non-stop trip takes roughly five minutes.
- There are Lower, Middle and Upper stations; only selected trips stop at the Middle Station.
Reaching the Lower Station
- Rapid Penang bus 204 runs from the Jetty and Komtar in George Town to the Penang Hill bus stop.
- Two car parks, the multi-storey car park and the temple car park, are within walking distance of the station.
On foot
- The Heritage Trail climbs 3.25 km from the Lower Station to the Upper Station.
- A five-kilometre jeep track from the Penang Botanic Gardens also reaches the top; the visitor guide estimates 150 minutes.
Plan the visit
A few points from the hill's own visitor information, and how we would use them.
From the official pages
- The funicular shuts for scheduled maintenance twice a year; check the notices on penanghill.gov.my before fixing a date.
- Pets are not allowed in the funicular cabin.
- Motorised wheelchairs are not permitted on the funicular; lightweight wheelchairs are available from the information counter.
- Wildlife roams freely on the hill; the operator asks visitors to follow safety signs and advisories.
Our planning notes
- The hill averages about 21°C, cooler than the city below, so a light layer is useful early or late in the day.
- Kek Lok Si Temple is also in Air Itam, so the two fit into one half-day outing from George Town.
Around Air Itam and George Town
Places that combine with a visit to the hill.
Frequently asked
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