Thean Hou Temple In Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is a melting pot of cultures, and as such has a large number of religious sites to explore; from Hindu temples and mosques to Buddhist temples. But even if religious sites are not your way to go to activity when exploring a city, there is one particular temple that you might want to include on your Bucket List: Thean Hou Temple. It is a 6-tier temple of the Chinese Sea Goddess Mazu, rich in colors and offering an impeccable view over Kuala Lumpur. It is located on a 1.67 acres (6,758 m2) land on top of Robson Heights at Lorong Bellamy, overlooking Jalan Syed Putra. It is also one of the largest temples in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.

Climb to the temple's upper decks to get close-up views of the mosaic dragons and phoenixes adorning the eaves.

The opening hours of the temple are from 8am to 10pm and the entrance fee is free. You are welcomed to make a donation at the temple. While there is no dress code for visiting Thean Hou Temple, it is recommended to dress as appropriately as possible (cover knees and shoulders in most cases). However, you are welcomed to enter the temple in shorts, and contrary to other religious sites, you won’t be denied access or provided alternative clothing options.

Getting There

There are two different ways to get to Thean Hou Temple:

Option 1 (for budget travelers), via public transport – If you are in a budget mode, Kuala Lumpur has quite an extensive public transport network that makes it easier to make your way through the city on a budget. The best thing is, it is fairly cheap!

• Wherever you are in the city, find a metro or monorail to get to KL Sentral

Example cost from Bukit Bintang to KL Sentral: Monorail ticket one way 2.5 MYR

• From KL Sentral, you need to take a metro (RapidKL) to Bangsar and the price ranges between 2 - 7 MYR per person, one way; the journey takes about 2 minutes. Alternatively, take a taxi from Tun Sambanthan monorail station or KL Sentral and the fare is about 7 MYR. 
• From there, it will take a 30 min walk (including the last 700m uphill) to the temple; you may use Google Maps for an accurate walking route to be sure you won’t get lost on your way!

Option 2 (for non budget travelers or travel time reduction) use Grab – Grab is an app that is very commonly used in Southeast Asia, it is similar to Uber. Download the app, type in your pick up point & your destination and the app will find you a driver. No need to connect your credit card as you can pay the driver in cash upon arrival. Just be sure that you have Wifi on your phone or a local sim card for Internet Data to arrange a driver and to arrange to be picked up again from the Thean Hou Temple once your visit is done!

Example cost from InnB Park Hotel: Grab Taxi one way 9 MYR.

Pictur Credit to: Lonelyplanet.com, elizabethannah