The Taiping Lake Gardens are among the most beautiful public parks in Malaysia, and arguably the most serene. Created in 1880 on the flooded remnants of exhausted tin-mining pits, the gardens spread across a series of interconnected lakes fringed by enormous rain trees whose canopies form cool tunnels over the footpaths. In the early morning, mist drifts across the water and herons stand motionless in the shallows. It takes real effort to leave.
The gardens are at their best in the early morning or late afternoon. Joggers, elderly couples practising tai chi, families with children on bikes — the gardens are used hard and loved. The lakes are home to large monitor lizards (often sunning themselves on the banks), egrets, kingfishers, and fish that create ripples at dusk. The Zoo Taiping adjoins the northern edge of the gardens, and the two together make a half-day easily.