Genting Highlands day trip

More things to do in Kuala Lumpur →

An hour from KL the road climbs to 1,700 m and the air drops to 18°C. Genting is a hilltop resort city — casino, malls, the Genting SkyWorlds theme park and the Awana SkyWay cable car that floats over rainforest to get you there, with a free stop at the cliffside Chin Swee temple. It is kitsch, cool and a proper day out, especially with kids or when KL's heat wins. Go on a weekday; weekends are Malaysia's own day-trippers.

Tickets

From
₹450
Tiers
  • Awana SkyWay cable car (return) — ₹450 · RM 19 standard gondola; RM 48 glass-floor — book online
  • Genting SkyWorlds theme park — ₹4,000 · RM 168 online a day ahead (RM 198 walk-in); child/senior RM 65; closed Tuesdays
  • Bus + cable car package from KL Sentral — ₹475 · RM 20 one-way on redBus/Go Genting — the cheap way up

Best time to go

Best time
Weekday, first bus at 8am — clouds roll in after 2pm and the cable car queue builds
Avoid
Weekends and Malaysian school holidays; Tuesdays if the theme park is the point
Notes
  • SkyWay runs 7am–11pm; SkyWorlds 10am–6pm
  • Temperature at the top 16–20°C — carry a layer

How long to spend

Recommended hours
8
Min hours
5

Highlights

  • Awana SkyWay — 10 minutes over rainforest canopy rising 620 m — sit facing downhill for the view · 1
  • Chin Swee Caves Temple — Free mid-station stop: a Chinese Buddhist temple on the cliff with a pagoda and a very literal 'ten courts of hell' walk · 2
  • Genting SkyWorlds — 26 rides across 9 themed zones — the Ice Age and Rio zones are the family ones; Independence Day is the coaster · 3

Strategy

Tips
  • Buy SkyWorlds online at least a day ahead — RM 30 cheaper and it includes 3 virtual-queue reservations
  • The KL Sentral bus + SkyWay combo is the easiest logistics: bus to Awana, gondola up, reverse to come down
  • Skytropolis indoor park is the wet-weather fallback; the casino is off-limits to under-21s and Muslims
  • Eat at the SkyAvenue food court, not the hotel restaurants — RM 15–25 a plate

Food nearby

Inside
  • SkyAvenue mall food court — Indian and veg counters; Chin Swee temple has a veg canteen

Getting there

Options
  • Go Genting express bus from KL Sentral — RM 11–12 to Awana bus terminal, hourly, 1 hr — then the SkyWay
  • Grab / private driver — RM 80–120 each way, 1 hr; a driver for the day ~RM 350

What to carry

  • A jacket or hoodie
  • Motion-sickness tablets for the winding road
  • Passport for the casino if you're going in
  • Umbrella — it rains up there most afternoons

Pro tips

  • Genting's founder Lim Goh Tong built the road by hand-clearing jungle in the 1960s; the casino licence is still the only one in Malaysia
  • Premium Outlets at the Awana base station are worth an hour on the way down — Nike, Coach, Adidas at 30–60% off
  • The glass-floor gondola is worth the RM 30 upgrade only on a clear morning