Kuala Lumpur, or simply KL, is the capital city of Malaysia and is also the perfect hub for your travels in Malaysia or elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Besides fantastic food (seriously our favorite in Asia) and the famous Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur has much more to offer.
Especially photography wise, Kuala Lumpur is up and coming. Make sure to bring your picture-perfect outfits with you, as we are going to tell you about the most Instagrammable Kuala Lumpur spots. A few of them are hidden gems, that only few people know about!
Kuala Lumpur Instagram pictures are hot and happening, especially after the Batu Caves steps got renovated. The Batu Caves stairs have turned into the most colorful stairs we’ve ever seen.
So if you like colorful places (like we do), the Batu Caves is a photographer’s heaven. But make sure to go early in the morning, as it gets very busy during the day. Besides the Batu Caves, there are so many more Instagram worthy places in KL that are super colorful.
In this article about Instagrammable places in KL, we will also tell you where to stay in KL and how to get around!
Instagrammable Places In KL
Kuala Lumpur is a great city to take pictures of, but you need to know where to go to! Below we will tell you the best Kuala Lumpur photography spots and the most Instagrammable Kuala Lumpur spots to go to in the city.
- Colorful Stairs At The Batu Caves Temple
The newly painted stairs of the Batu Caves can’t be missed on this list with the most Instagram worthy places in KL. 272 rainbow-colored steps, how cool is that?!
The Batu Caves is a popular spot to visit, so make sure to come during sunrise to get shots without other people.
Don’t forget to walk all the 272 stairs up (maybe after your photo session) to go inside the beautiful cave. In the cave, you will find a temple. Be aware that many monkeys walk on the steps too.
Make sure you don’t carry food/plastic bottles or hold any other loose objects. The monkeys will definitely try to grab it.
You can reach the Batu Caves with the metro (KTM Komuter), though we highly recommend getting a taxi or Grab taxi if you want to be there early in the morning. The Batu Caves is located about 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) from the city center.
Good to know: there’s a Batu Caves dress code: you need to have your knees covered before you walk up the stairs. Then you are totally ready to enjoy this super Instagrammable Kuala Lumpur spot!
- Thean Hou Temple
This Chinese temple is one of the largest and oldest temples in South East Asia. The temple is located on top of a hill that offers great views over the city. The colors and decorations of the temple are so beautiful that you want to take a picture at every corner.
If you have enough time, visit the temple during the day and during the evening. At night the lanterns make the temple even cozier.
Of course, you could go just before sunset so you can see the temple (and take pictures) during sunset light and wait till it’s dark.
Best is to take a taxi to the Thean Hou Temple. You could walk for about half an hour from KL Sentral, but the roads aren’t the safest (no sidewalk) and you need to walk uphill the last part.
- Street Art in Bukit Bintang
The streets of Bukit Bintang went through a huge transformation. Once ugly, dirty, and infamous for drug dealers, now colorful, happy, and amongst the most Instagrammable places in Kuala Lumpur.
Definitely a cool place to check out if you like street art. Walk around and explore the different murals.
The colorful streets are located close to the famous food street Jalan Alor. So if you are looking for a place to have dinner, definitely go there!
Love street art? Make sure to go to Penang and find the best Penang street art.
- Astaka Morocco Putrajaya
Technically this spot isn’t in Kuala Lumpur but in Putrajaya. Putrajaya is a city South of Kuala Lumpur. As Putrajaya is on the way from the city center to the airport, you could arrange a stop in Putrajaya. Or make a fun day trip out of it!
Putrajaya has two beautiful spots that can’t be missed on this list with the most Instagrammable Kuala Lumpur spots. Astaka Morocco is one of them. The second is the pink Putra Mosque, which we will tell you about later on.
If you have been to Morocco, you know how beautiful Moroccan architecture is. And so perfect for pictures. Astaka Morocco is a complex with Moroccan architecture built to symbolize the unity of Malaysia and Morocco.
You can’t take pictures inside the building, but the outer area provides many photo opportunities and is free to visit.
- KL Forest Eco-Park
Want to escape the bustle of the city and want to take some pictures in nature? Then the KL Forest Eco-Park is the place to go to.
You can find this jungle in the middle of the city, close to the KL Tower. This jungle is special because Kuala Lumpur is the only city in the world that has a natural rainforest in its city center. How amazing!
Monkeys, hiking trails, cool canopy walkways, hundreds of different kinds of trees, you can find it all in the KL Forest Eco-Park.
Walk the canopy walkways to get great pictures with the Kuala Lumpur skyline in the back. Throughout the eco-park, you can find some of the greenest and best photography spots in Kuala Lumpur.
- Saloma Link Bridge
A brand new Insta-spot in Kuala Lumpur. The Saloma Link bridge opened in February 2020, and because of its unique design, it’s a popular place to visit from the moment it opened.
At night LED lights illuminate the bridge, so especially at night, it’s a cool place to visit. And if you find the right angle, you can photograph the bridge with the Petronas Towers in the back.
The bridge connects old and new Kuala Lumpur, the two used to be separated by a highway. The bridge makes walking (or biking) between the two a lot faster. The name of the bridge is dedicated to a Malaysian-Singaporean singer and actress.
- Wilayah Mosque
The Federal Territory Mosque is a large mosque that’s open for Muslim and non-Muslim visitors.
The mosque is very beautiful and something that’s especially cool about this mosque is the beautiful reflection you can see on one side of the mosque.
Perfect for pictures, don’t you think? Always be respectful and ask if it’s okay to take pictures. When we were there, it wasn’t a problem at all.
In Kuala Lumper and the rest of Malaysia, you can find many mosques and temples, as Malaysia is a very diverse country with people of different cultural backgrounds.
In the mosque, you need to wear a robe and the women have to wear a headscarf too. This will be provided by the mosque, free of charge. You can visit the mosque outside of prayer times.
The Wilayah Mosque is a bit out of the city center, so it’s best to take a taxi here.
- Infinity Pool At The Face Suites
The infinity pool at the Face Suites is simply amazing. The views you get when laying in the pool are the best.
You can go to the pool when you book a room at the hotel, the Face Suites, or when you book an apartment through Airbnb in the same building. If you are on a budget, the latter would be best.
Look up either The Face Suites or Platinum on Airbnb.
It can get pretty crowded at the pool, especially since it became one of the most Instagrammable Kuala Lumpur spots, but if you have good timing you will have the pool almost to yourselves. Go early in the morning just to be sure there won’t be many other people.
- Kwai Chai Hong
Kwai Chai Hong is a hidden gem in China Town. Or well, that was the case when we visited in 2019, just after this street got renovated.
Once a dirty alley (Kwai Chai Hong means ‘Little Demon Alley’), now an alley full of street art, restaurants, and one of our favorite Instagrammable places in KL.
It’s a lovely place to visit, so we can imagine Kwai Chai Hong will get more popular every day.
Something we love most about Kwai Chai Hong is the interactive street art pieces. You can sit on a barber chair, jump rope, and sit next to a man who’s creating Chinese art. How cool is that?
Besides these Instagrammable Kuala Lumpur spots, there are also many main attractions you can’t miss. Read about them in our two day Kuala Lumpur guide.
- Elmina Valley Central Park
The Saloma Link Bridge opened early 2020 in the city center, but a bit out of the city something else exciting opened its doors too.
Elmina Valley Central Park is a recreational park in Shah Alam. The park is about 30 minutes away from the city center. And since the beginning of 2020, there’s a rainbow walkway in the park and some other amazing architectural artworks.
One of the other artworks, a bridge, lights up at night and the rainbow walkway is dreamy during the day. We love seeing pictures of these two new Kuala Lumpur Photography spots.
- Lake Gardens
Like the KL Forest Eco-Park, Lake Gardens is a great place to go to, to escape the bustle of the city. The Lake Gardens is also known as the Botanical Garden and Taman Tasik Perdana.
You can find many great places in the gardens, like a butterfly garden, an orchid garden, a deer park, and a lake. The area is big, so there’s a lot to explore. Our highlight of the Lake Gardens is Laman Perdana. Or yellow trees, how we like to call them!
Laman Perdana is located in the middle of the main gardens and is a very cool place for an original Kuala Lumpur Instagram picture.
- Dataran Merdeka Square
The Dataran Merdeka Square (Independence Square) is a big square in Kuala Lumpur. This is where Malaysia celebrates its independence.
The square is located in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, which is a beautiful building. The Sultan Abdul Samad Building houses Government offices and is a great building to take pictures of.
Close to the square you can find the National Textile Museum, a building which people love to photograph too.
- Putra Mosque
We talked about the Putra Mosque earlier in the post, as it’s in Putrajaya, the same city where Astaka Morocco is located.
The Putra Mosque is one of the most beautiful and special mosques we have ever seen. What makes this mosque extra special? It’s a pink mosque! One of the most Instagrammable places in KL, as it’s so unique.
The mosque is big, as it can accommodate 15.000 people at the same time. The area around the mosque is big too, and very beautiful.
Walk around or hire a bike and explore! This way you can find unique angles of the mosque, perfect for pictures.
One of the best viewpoints is from the Lakeside Putrajaya walking street across the river.
The interior of the mosque is beautiful too. You can visit the mosque outside of prayer times and it’s possible to borrow a robe.
- The LINC KL
The LINC KL is a new mall in Kuala Lumpur that is amazing! Okay, we’ve said this before, but this is truly one of the most Instagrammable Kuala Lumpur spots. Especially if you like colors.
The LINC KL is a mall with many restaurants, shops, hipster cafes, and art pieces. And everywhere you can see plants and trees. The mall is a combination of nature and creativity.
And also important: there are many photo opportunities in the mall. Street art, light bulbs, rainbow stairs, and much more. But the most impressive art piece is a 40.000 paper cranes rainbow art installation.
It took the makers 6 months to create it and the message of it is amazing too: unity, love, and peace.
- Heli Lounge Bar
This Helipad bar is one of the coolest bars we have ever visited. The place is used as a helipad during the day and at night it transforms into a bar! It offers a fantastic 360° view of the city. Sunset is the best moment to go for the most epic pictures of yourself and the rest of the city.
The bar becomes increasingly famous so if you want to make sure you have a table on the helipad, make a reservation or come as soon as it opens.
Good to know: you need to be 18 years old to go on top of the helipad, there’s a dress code (smart casual) after 9 PM, and the prices of the drinks aren’t cheap. But you pay for the amazing views (our favorite Instagrammable Kuala Lumpur view) and unique location, definitely worth it in our opinion.
Bangkok also has amazing Instagram spots! An airplane graveyard, a unicorn cafe, and a dragon temple for example. How cool does that sound? Check out the best Instagram spots Bangkok here!
- Bank Negara Malaysia Museum & Art Gallery
Visit the Bank Negara Malaysia & Art Gallery to learn more about Malaysia’s economy, the Central Bank of Malaysia, and to see art.
But why you especially should visit this building, is for its spiral staircase. We are huge fans of spiral staircases, as we love the perspective it offers.
The staircase is an important feature in the building, as it’s the inspiration of the museum’s main graphic icon. It starts in the lobby and connects every floor.
The staircase makes for great pictures! Especially as natural light from the ceiling illuminates the staircase.
- Café Merchant’s Lane
Café Merchant’s Lane is arguable the most Instagrammable cafe in Kuala Lumpur. Inside you will find an Oriental interior with tropical plants.
It’s a perfect place to enjoy a cup of coffee, takes some pictures, and escape to from the busy streets of Kuala Lumpur.
- KL Tower Sky Box
The KL Tower and Petronas Towers are iconic towers in the city. But we will talk about the Petronas Towers later in this article.
The KL Tower is a 421 meters (1.381 feet) high communications tower in the city center. At 300 meters high (984 feet) you can find two skyboxes that offer amazing views.
The skyboxes are not for the people who have a fear of heights, as you can look all the way down through the glass bottom.
When you buy tickets for the observation deck you can go to the skyboxes too.
- National Science Center
We are so sad we found out about the National Science Center, also known as Pusat Sains Negara, only AFTER we had left Kuala Lumpur. After seeing the most colorful pictures here, we almost booked a flight back to KL.
The National Science Center got renovated a few years ago and they made the windows all around the building rainbow-colored. They really like to make things rainbow in Kuala Lumpur and we love it!
Especially when the sun shines on the windows, it makes for extra beautiful pictures. This place is on the top of our list of Instagrammable places in KL to visit when we get back!
Not many people know about the National Science Center and its colorful windows. So this is your chance for a unique Kuala Lumpur Instagram picture.
Good to know: the exact spot where most people take pictures is not a place you normally get to. But we heard you can access through the emergency exit on the first floor. We don’t want to encourage illegal things, so if you are being stopped, please respect the rules.
Sometimes it takes some effort to take that perfect picture ;).
- NU Sentral Station
NU Sentral Station is the main station of Kuala Lumpur and is the largest railway station in Malaysia. Besides hopping on the train, metro or bus, you can shop here too. As the NU Sentral shopping mall is attached to the station.
The reason we put NU Sentral Station on this list with Instagrammable places in KL is a cool entrance of the station. We love the symmetrical design and the escalators in the middle. It’s a great place to take creative pictures at. But make sure to go here during off-peak hours if you want the escalators to be empty.
- Petronas Towers
Last but not least: the Petronas Towers. The Petronas Towers have to be on this list with Instagrammable Kuala Lumpur spots. You simply can’t miss the photogenic Petronas Towers when you go to Kuala Lumpur, they are the landmark of the city.
Once they were the tallest buildings in the world, but not anymore. Though, they are still the tallest twin towers in the world! Inside the towers, there’s a mall and it’s possible to buy tickets to visit the sky bridge and the observation deck.
The KLCC park behind the towers offers great views on them. At night there’s a fountain and light show, they aren’t too special but quite fun. Visit Titiwangsa Lake Gardens for more unique views on the city and the Petronas Towers.
CLOSED: Selfie Museum
Sadly, the selfie museum closed its doors as it was just a temporary museum. But hopefully, it will come back to Kuala Lumpur, because the selfiest place on earth was an amazing place for pictures.
The museum had 9 rooms and each room had a different style. It was a fantastic place if you wanted to photograph the most colorful and happy pictures.
Not only the rooms were very sweet, but you also got 5 Malaysian inspired desserts. Like we said before, hopefully the Selfie Museum will come back again!
Instagrammable KL Map
Where To Stay In Kuala Lumpur?
We will tell you about where to stay in KL. Kuala Lumpur has many different accommodation options to choose from, but we will tell you our personal favorites.
We ordered them by price range, in a budget, mid-range, and luxury section to fit everyone’s desires, budget, and to find your best place to stay in Kuala Lumpur:
Budget
BackHome Kuala Lumpur
BackHome is a hostel that has a great location, close to China Town and many restaurants. The staff is very friendly, the whole hostel is very clean and the rooms are spacious. A great budget place to stay at!
Reggae Mansion Hostel Kuala Lumpur
If you want to party and meet people, this is the hostel to stay at! They have a rooftop bar which is fun and attracts also many people who don’t stay at the hostel. The location of the hostel is great too. Plus the whole colonial building of the Raggae Mansion is very pretty!
BIG M Hotel
Great budget hotel with easy access to public transportation. But you don’t really need it, as you are within walking distance to many attractions. The rooms are simple, but you pay for what you get. Good value for your money.
Mid Range
The Kuala Lumpur Journal Hotel
KL Journal Hotel has to be in this blog post with the most Instagrammable places in KL. As the KL Journal is a very Instagrammable hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The hotel is very hip and the rooftop terrace and pool are beautiful. Perfect to take pictures at, to escape the heat with a jump in the pool, and to enjoy a drink. Its location is perfect, close to the bustle of Bukit Bintang and the famous food street Jalan Alor.
Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral
If you come from the airport by bus or train, you will arrive at NU Sentral. And Aloft is located next to NU Sentral, how perfect! The hotel has a great modern design, offers great views over the city and has a fantastic infinity pool + bar. Important: the wifi is fast at Aloft!
Hotel Stripes
One of our favorite hotels in the city. It’s a new trendy hotel close to many main attractions and photo spots in KL. The pool area is great to relax at, the pool itself is wonderful, and the mixed drinks are delicious. There’s even a ladies’ night with free mixed drinks!
Lanson Place Bukit Ceylon Serviced Residences
A condo-hotel with fully furnished apartments. Lanson Place is a perfect place if you are a family. The apartments are spacious, the swimming pool is big, there’s a gym, a little cafe, and a children’s playground. Its location is in a quiet area, though close to the bustle of Jalan Alor.
Luxury
Villa Samadhi Kuala Lumpur
A garden resort in the middle of Kuala Lumpur! Villa Samadhi is a very unique place to stay in KL, as you can’t find any other place like this in the city center.
As soon as you enter the resort, you will forget about the bustle of the city. The rooms are Asian-style, spacious and most are connected to the pool. The service is great like you expect from a five-star hotel. It’s especially a great place to stay for couples.
W Kuala Lumpur
We always love staying at the W Hotel, as they are always trendy, well designed, and very welcoming hotels. The W hotel KL is a quite new hotel as it opened in 2018. Spacious rooms, friendly staff, a stunning pool, and great views over the city, W Kuala Lumpur has it all. The hotel is located next to the Petronas Towers, and its pool overlooks the towers.
The Face Suites
Less luxurious than W Kuala Lumpur and Villa Samadhi, but a great place to stay at. Especially for its infinity pool. We talked about the pool earlier in this article, as it’s one of the most Instagrammable Kuala Lumpur Spot. The pool and view are stunning and make for fantastic pictures. It’s definitely the most beautiful pool with a view of the whole city.
The Face Suites is a condo-hotel with modern apartments. The apartments are spacious and have everything you need. Its location isn’t far from the Petronas Towers and the newly built Saloma Link Bridge.
You can also book an apartment at the Face Suites through Airbnb.
Transportation in Kuala Lumpur
There are many transportation options in Kuala Lumpur. We always love to travel around the city by Grab. Everyone knows Uber and Grab is like Uber in Asia.
We prefer traveling by Grab over a normal taxi, as this way we don’t need to explain where we are going to, as you put it all in the app. Though, you need to have internet/Wi-Fi to use it.
Grab is very cheap but the downside of traveling by car in Kuala Lumpur is the traffic. Sometimes the traffic is horrible so it takes a while to get around.
A great thing about Grab is that the price is fixed, so if the ride takes longer, it won’t cost you extra money.
Public transportation options are the LRT (KL Light Rail Transit), KL Monorail, MRT (Mass Rapid Transit), or the public bus.
There are even free bus services you can use. Go KL City Bus is a public bus that offers free rides within the Kuala Lumpur Central Business District. How cool is that?
Check 12Go Asia if you want to travel around Malaysia!
Kuala Lumpur Airport To City Center
The Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is located quite far from the city center. It will take you about one hour drive, as it’s 60 kilometers (37 miles), to get from the airport to KL.
Good to know: there’s a KLIA and a KLIA2. KLIA2 is located 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away from the main KLIA. Only budget airlines fly from and to KLIA2, like AirAsia. Both KLIA and KLIA2 are big. KLIA2 is even the world’s largest airport for budget airlines
Kuala Lumpur Airport Transfers
The fastest way to travel from Kuala Lumpur airport to the city center is by train (KLIA Ekspres). Within 28 minutes you will be at NU Sentral, which is a lot faster than by bus or taxi. The trains are very comfortable and not so busy. A ticket costs 55RM (€12/$13). The KLIA Ekspres also travels between KLIA and KLIA2.
The cheapest way is to travel by bus. Like the KLIA Ekspres, you can take the bus from KLIA1/KLIA2 to NU Sentral. This will take you about an hour (depending on the traffic) and will cost about 10RM (€2.15/$2.30).
If you want to travel directly to your hotel, a taxi or Grab would be most convenient. Especially if you travel with more people, this could be a great option.
It will take you about an hour (depending on the traffic) to get to the city center and will cost you about 75RM. If you travel by Grab, the price you see will not include toll. So that will be extra charged on top of the price (about 15RM).
Subang Airport
Besides the Kuala Lumpur International Airport there’s another airport close to Kuala Lumpur, Subang Airport. KLIA is the main airport in Malaysia so most people travel through that airport. Subang Airport used to be Malaysia’s main airport before KLIA opened.
The airport is currently the hub for the airlines Firefly, Berjaya Air, and Malindo Air. We’ve never traveled through Subang Airport and it’s most likely you will travel through KLIA too. But if you do travel from/to Subang Airport, you can do this by bus and taxi.
Subang Airport is located closer to the city, so a taxi ride will take about 30 minutes. There’s also a bus traveling from/to KL Sentral.
Enjoy these 21 Instagrammable places in KL! If we missed a spot, please let us know! And if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments or send us a message.
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KL Yong
Tuesday 28th of April 2020
I last went to Batu Caves in 1990. Looks like it's high time I revisit. Those rainbow-coloured steps are otherworldly.
Roxanne & Maartje
Tuesday 28th of April 2020
Absolutely!
Carol Khan
Tuesday 27th of August 2019
I LOVE KL is a must! Check it out at KL's historical Merdeka Square!