Kinta River in Ipoh

The Kinta River is tributary of the Perak which flows approximately 100 km from its source deep in the jungles of the Titiwangsa Mountains before joining the Perak River near the town of Teluk Intan.

Along its course to the Perak River the Kinta River flows through the centre of Ipoh separating it Old Town area from the New Town.

About the Kinta River

The Kinta River flows from North to South through the city with footpaths and grass on both banks. The green spaces provide a pleasant relief from the concrete of the city and provide a habitat for wildlife in the very centre of Malaysia’s third most populous city.

The river has been a lot of things to the people of Ipoh through the years: a source of water, a form of transport, and also it was once a very important economic resource as it supported a substantial water fresh water fishing industry. Now the river is a place where the people of Ipoh come to relax. 

Within the city two parks are located on the banks of the river. The largest of these parks is the Taman DR Park to the North of the city centre which features lakes, a mini-Japanese garden, and two large fields where local sports teams come to practice. The other park, the People’s Park, is much smaller and has a children’s playground and a BBQ restaurant which opens in the evenings. The People’s Park is on the west bank of the river near the Hugh Low Bridge.

Ipoh has two historic bridges going over the river: the Birch Bridge (1907) which is on the Jalan Sultan Idris Shah and the Hugh Low Bridge (replaced by a more attractive new bridge in 2009). 

If you go to Ipoh take a moment to visit the Kinta River, as city centre waterways go this is a pretty good one.