Kuala Selangor is a town located in Selangor, Malaysia. The town caters largely to tourists coming this way en route to Kelip-Kelip at Kampung Kuantan or local travellers on a trail of seafood binging. Kuala Selangor town is not particularly big and one can easily walk around without a map or a guide. There are a number of cheap food outlets and a couple of fast food joints. It is also possible to walk to the Kuala Selangor Nature Park and Bukit Melawati for a visit.
Kuala Selangor is an old royal capital of Selangor. It was conquered by the Dutch in 1784, when they successfully attempted to expand from their base in Melaka to control the tin trade of Perak and Selangor.
Bukit Melawati is a hill overlooking Kuala Selangor and the Strait of Malacca. The Dutch destroyed the existing fortifications on the hill during their 1784 invasion, and built a European-style castle, naming it Fort Atlingsburg after their commander. The fort was fought over repeatedly by the Dutch, Sultanate of Selangor and later the British. What remains of the fortress today are some cannons, foundation stones, Poisoned Well and colonial houses. Other attractions at Malawati Hill include a light house, a royal mausoleum, a viewing tower, a museum, 200-year-old angsana trees and the monkeys.
If you are hungry and need to satisfy your hunger, try the many seafood restaurants at Pasir Penambang , a 10 minutes drive away from Bukit Malawati.
The colourful tram that will be on operation during the weekends
(Saturdays and Sundays)
1. The Royal Mausoleum
2. Silvered – leaf monkeys
Taman Alam Kuala Selangor (Kuala Selangor Nature Park) is a forest reserve with an area of 2.4 square kilometres just outside town on the estuary of the Sungai Selangor river. It is known for its mangrove swamps and variety of birds. A bird sanctuary park at the foot of Bukit Melawati is an ideal place for bird watchers to watch migratory birds. Also found are silvered – leaf monkeys, butterflies etc.
Concrete walk through mangrove Forest,
Taman Alam Kuala Selangor
Bird waching are near Kuala Selangor
There is also a firefly park in Kampung Kuantan , Kuala Selangor which allows visitors to go in a boat along the river to see the fireflies. Row upstream in a small unmotorised boat (tongkang) in the quiet darkness to witness the blinking trees. This scintillating display of fireflies portrays an image of a flashing Christmas tree. The synchronized, rhythmic flashing is produced by the thousands of fireflies found in the mangrove swamp of Kampung Kuantan. The skilled local oarsmen make this experience a memorable and unforgettable one. A restaurant is located outside the Firefly Park for convenience.
Kampung Kuantan was once a humble little village, not unlike many during the early years and Kampung Kuantan, one of the largest firefly colonies in the world.
But as industrialisation set in later, this village suffered what many others did - Young folk moved away; fishermen and farmers living off the land found it difficult to eke out a living and the highways took away any chances of revival in the area.
Then one day, a bunch of entomologists heard about the strange congregation of lights not too far from the village - a place where millions of little green lights twinkled in the shadows of the night. The entomologists descended on the area like a swarm of bees to honey. That was in the 70's. But the beauty of the place was kept a secret until almost a decade ago. These twinkling lights helped the villagers revive their little town. They are the local folks' little fairies....
Kelip-kelip in Bahasa Malaysia, means 'to twinkle'. Twinkle is what these little creatures do.The kelip-kelip is more popularly known as fireflies, However, as confusing as the English Language goes, fireflies aren't flies but are in fact tiny 6mm long beetles, which belong to the Lampyridae species. And they don't produce fire but a cool green glow in the lower abdomen.
If you would like to know more about the kelip-kelip, the visitor centre at Kampung Kuantan has some information. This is also where tickets for the boat ride can be bought. The ticket includes a drink and a packet of local snacks, just in case you get hungry during the boat ride. However, there are pretty good seafood restaurants at Kuala Selangor itself… and seafood doesn't come fresher than the ones sold there. Fishing boats come in from the day's work with fresh catches that are sold to the restaurants. Prices are reasonable…much more affordable than the average place in KL.
He imparted all that he knew in a hushed voice. Straining to hear his story, we found out that the kelip-kelips in many areas are fast becoming a rare sight as more and more of their habitats are being chopped down to make way for development. The species of kelip-kelip we were about to encounter, reside only in mangrove areas. During the day, they retreat into the tall grasses just behind the mangroves. As night falls, they move to the mangrove trees(called pokok berembang) lining the banks to feed on nectar from the leaves and to attract mates with their synchronised flashing. The chemical reaction in the thorax of the insect produces a cool green glow that is controlled to flash at a rate of 3 flashes per second. The males flash within 1/30th of a second of each other whilst the females do not flash as frequently nor as flamboyantly as the males. Each tree has different groups of families and sometimes the synchronisation of flashes on one tree falls out of synch with the neighbouring tree. However, for optimum effect, it is best to visit the place just after nightfall and not later than 11.00pm, after which time the kelip-kelip would have found mates or mated, and subsequently the flashing would stop
Kampung Kuantan is famous for fireflies (kelip-kelip). Every
night the illuminating beetles put up a twinkling
show on the riverbanks of Sungai Selangor
