The Habitat Penang Hill, a 10-minute stroll from the top station of Penang Hill, opened in January. The owner and management company, Flagstaff Holdings, invested RM32 million (US$7.8 million) to transform this four-hectare site into a new tourism product for Penang. Works included refurbishing a stable that can take events with up to 60 people inside or 80 in the briefing area, building a tree-tops walk, and installing zip lines along a 1.6km nature trail. These are surrounded by a 130 million-year-old rainforest which is gazetted and protected since 1911.
Concept This eco-tourism attraction puts an interesting spin on nature trails by placing many educational and interpretive signage on the rainforest’s flora and fauna and supports it with a complimentary guided tour led by an in-house naturalist who gives participants a peek into the various species of birds, insects, small creatures and plant life that thrive there. Participants may even spot a ratufa bicolour squirrel.
The latest attraction is the Curtis Crest Treetop Walk which opened in August. There are multiple viewing platforms and participants can walk along the Canopy Walk bridges that span approximately 230m in length. While the Canopy Walk offers spectacular views across the Straits of Malacca to Kedah State, it is the views from Curtis Crest that will take one’s breathe away. The latter is the highest viewing platform in Penang and promises spectacular 360-degree views of Penang. On a clear day, the islands of Langkawi can be sighted in the distance.
MICE application The Habitat Penang Hill makes a good pre/post tour option for groups attending conferences and meetings in town, as it is only a 20-minute drive from George Town to Bukit Bendera station where visitors will then take a five to eight-minute funicular train ride.
The nature trail is mostly shaded and the pathway is wheelchair friendly even during wet weather, thanks to the use of a pervious concrete material known as LaFarge hydro-media.
MICE groups will have more to do from this month on, with the launch of Canopy Discovery Tour which is perfect for teambuilding. Participants have to conquer low and high ropes and climb trees.
Service I was impressed with the naturalist guide’s depth of knowledge. Time flew past even though the nature walk was a slow tour with many stops.
