Bukit Melawati

Bukit Melawati is a low hill standing over the river mouth at Kuala Selangor, and it was fortified by the Selangor sultanate in the eighteenth century, taken by the Dutch in 1784, and fought over again after that - what survives is fragmentary: a poison well used for executions, cannon, sections of wall, a royal mausoleum and the Altingsburg lighthouse of 1907, still working. The view runs over the Strait and the mangrove. What most visitors actually come for now is the silvered leaf monkeys, a habituated troop that lives on the hill and comes down to be fed, with the young born a bright orange that fades to grey; long-tailed macaques are there too and are far less charming. An open trolley bus runs up from the bottom.

History

Local Malays first built a fort on the hill in the early 16th century, at the behest of Tun Mahmud Shah of Malacca. Bugis settlers who came to the coast in the late 17th century installed Raja Lumu as the first Sultan of Selangor in 1742, and his successor Sultan Ibrahim Shah strengthened the fort against the Dutch. In 1784, in reprisal for attacks on Dutch Malacca by the sultan's ally Raja Haji, a Dutch fleet under Dirk van Hogendorp bombarded the fort from the sea for two weeks, took it and renamed it Fort Altingburg; Sultan Ibrahim won it back in 1785. The fort fell into ruin during the Selangor Civil War of the 19th century, and three of Selangor's earliest sultans are buried on the hill (Wikipedia, Bukit Malawati).

Highlights

• Silvered leaf monkeys - the habituated troop, with orange-coated young.
• Fort remains - cannon, wall sections, the poison well and a royal mausoleum.
• Altingsburg lighthouse - the 1907 light still working on the summit.
• A view over the Strait - the river mouth, mangrove and open water.

When to go

All year; morning for the monkeys, evening for the light. Half a day.

Before you go

Macaques here are aggressive and snatch bags and food; feeding is discouraged despite what you will see. Fort remains are fragmentary. The hill is busy at weekends.

Nearby

Kuala Selangor Nature Park is at the foot; the Kampung Kuantan fireflies are upriver.