While planning a short trip to Indonesia and Malaysia, I decided it would be easy to add in a quick trip to FRIM Selangor on one of our transits through KLIA2 airport. At the time it was still tentative and looking unlikely to be added to the list, but of course like many of the nominated sites in 2025 it was of course added - making the stopover a must!

We've previously visited Kuala Lumpur multiple times, hence just deciding to visit only this site. At first I looked into public transport, including the speedy KLIA Express train, but the quickest and cheapest option (for 2 people) is a Grab taxi. It was about a 70 minute taxi ride each direction from KLIA2 with a little traffic on a Saturday, for the cheap price of 80-90 MYR each way (16-18 EUR).

While advance registration for the walks within the forest is necessary, no booking is required to visit Kepong Botanic Gardens and the Forest Skywalk. Just be warned both are closed on Fridays and the limited hours for the Forest Skywalk, including a long lunch break. Entry is 5 MYR to the botanic gardens and 40 MYR for the Forest Skywalk, for foreigners, plus an extra 10 MYR for the taller tower along the Skywalk.

The Forest Skywalk offers impressive views of the trees below and the adjacent protected section of the park. (Briefly opened to the public during COVID, but shut again after visitors interfered in experiments, such as …

We visited the highly accessible Kepong Botanic Gardens (FRIM) and the Forest Skywalk. Frederick Dawson's review covers the less accessible portion of FRIM (worth reading). We enjoyed our weekday morning visit to Kepong Botanic Gardens. Upon arrival we took a forest trail and the shaded coolness was a particularly pleasant reprieve from the high temperature humidity. The dense under-story plants hide all trace that this area was a product of reforestation.

Afterwards, we made our way to the Forest Skywalk. Since it was a Tuesday morning, we were the only people on the structure. The highlights are looking down from the canopy toward the forest floor, views of the forested hills and nearby pond. All pleasantly scenic, but after visiting the Treetop Walk at Singapore's MacRitchie Reservoir Park, it was a bit underwhelming.

The Kepong Botanic Gardens (FRIM) is a fine introduction to this world heritage site. However, its a shame you cannot simply cross over from the botanic garden area to to the forest reach center.

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Tucked quietly on the northern fringe of bustling Kuala Lumpur lies the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), an ecological treasure that remains surprisingly unknown to many, even among locals. Despite being just a short drive from the city center, FRIM is often overlooked in favor of other well-known attractions. Yet it offers something far more meaningful: a rare, immersive glimpse into Malaysia’s forest conservation efforts and the quiet beauty of tropical reforestation. FRIM features two main attractions, the public Skywalk in Kepong Botanic Garden and the restricted Forest Walk on the Keruing Trail inside FRIM's educational zone. While the Skywalk provides sweeping views above the canopy, the Forest Walk offers a more intimate, ground-level experience of the forest’s biodiversity and scientific significance. I opted for the Forest Walk, and it turned out to be the highlight of my visit though getting there took some effort. Booking the Forest Walk requires advance planning. The process is somewhat bureaucratic: you must email the FRIM office, await a reply, and then manually transfer the 150 MYR guide fee to a designated government bank account. There’s no online portal or instant booking system, which may feel outdated, especially for foreign visitors. However, once confirmed, the experience more than justifies the hassle. 

Our guide was outstanding, informative, passionate, and deeply connected to the forest. What sets FRIM apart is that it’s not just a recreational park or nature spot. And importantly, FRIM is not a botanical garden. Unlike botanical gardens, which often cultivate plants in …

The site is in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur, just about 10 minutes of driving from famous Batu Caves. FRIM is acronym of Forest Research Institute of Malaysia and the site is quite a big park and botanical garden. Entrance fee is 5.3 RM per non-Malaysian plus 5.3 RM for the car.

The botanical garden is quite nice, although it is not European style one with mostly exotic species. In fact there are only domestic ones. There should be much more adventurous walks, such as canopy walking tour but, according to the provided information, they are closed until further notice.

Although the place is worth a detour if you want to take a break from big city climate of Malaysian capital, I found nothing outstanding in this place. I admit I have no knowledge of scientific work behind, which potentially may be the main reason for description (Malaysian government plans to propose it in 2020). Based on what I saw, that will not be a major addition to the List.