The Istana Iskandariah is the official residence of the Sultan of Perak — a striking white modernist palace built in 1933 on a hilltop overlooking the Perak River at Kuala Kangsar. The architecture is a confident streamline-moderne, with a square central block crowned by a stepped tower, four corner pavilions and long porticoed wings. It is one of the most distinctive royal palaces in Malaysia.
The palace is not normally open to the public, but the Perak Royal Museum (Galeri Sultan Azlan Shah) next door covers the history of the sultanate and includes the older 1926 wooden palace, Istana Kenangan, built without a single nail. The two together justify the trip up the hill from town.