Kuala Sepetang, Perak

Salted fish being dried under the sun at Kuala Sepetang, Perak (31 August, 2015)


Kuala Sepetang (GPS: 4.83809, 100.63008) is a coastal town in Perak. Located about half an hour from Taiping, at the mouth of Sungai Sepetang. The town itself is between the mouths of Sungai Reba and Sungai Kapal Changkok, both of which tributaries to Sungai Sepetang.

Kuala Sepetang used to be called Port Weld. That was during the tin-mining days, some hundred years ago, when tin mined in the Larut and Matang areas are sent there to be shipped out. The port was established in 1877, the year that Taiping became the administrative capital of Perak, and with it came the very first railway tracks in the peninsula. That railway line, over a distance of 8 kilometers, facilitated the transport of tin.

After tin mining in the Larut valley went into decline, and then stopped all together, Port Weld, now known as Kuala Sepetang, went into a long slumber. That slumber was only broken in the past decade, as the town discovered a new vigor injected by tourism. Riding on an interest in nature and the environment, Kuala Sepetang is now building a reputation as a centre for eco-tourism.

Nowadays, visitors descend on Kuala Sepetang to visit the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, the Kuala Sepetang Charcoal Factory, and perhaps to buy products of the sea such as salted fish, belacan and ikan bilis, and perhaps go on a joy ride by boat through the mangrove forest.

Map of Kuala Sepetang

What to eat in Kuala Sepetang

Sights in Kuala Sepetang

Dried prawns and dried anchovies are just some of the foodstuff selling at Kuala Sepetang (31 August, 2015)


Fish crackers sold to tourists at the Kuala Sepetang jetty (31 August, 2015)


Man categorizing prawns by size, working on the floor at the Kuala Sepetang jetty (31 August, 2015)

Kuala Sepetang on Google Maps Street View

The village of Kuala Sepetang

Kuala Sepetang, as seen from Sungai Sepetang.

Today all the glory is left to the past, and Kuala Sepetang is just a small fishing village populated by Chinese shopkeepers and fishermen. Short distance out of the town is the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve and Kota Ngah Ibrahim.

The old Port Weld sign (19 September, 2004)

Getting there

Exit the North-South Expressway at Exit 146 (Changkat Jering Interchange) onto Federal Route 1. Head north in the direction of Taiping until you reach the crossroad at Simpang. Turn left onto Federal Route 74 and it takes you all the way to Kuala Sepetang.

Here I am at the Matang Mangrove Forest (16 April, 2005)

Kuala Sepetang is on the Map of towns in Perak

Back to Perak mainpage; list of Towns in Perak and Towns in Malaysia

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About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.