Penang Botanic Gardens guide 2025: including a step-by-step walk guide

For over a century, Penang Botanic Gardens has provided an open and peaceful green space for the people of Penang to enjoy. Originally built on the site of an old quarry, the gardens were initially focused on botanical pursuits but this evolved after the Second World War, and they’re now primarily a place people come to stroll, hike, jog, or simply enjoy the beautiful tree-framed setting.

Here we cover what to expect from your visit as well a a step-by-step walk guide that loops you around the gardens. This is a very easy-going walk with just a minor incline in the first half of the walk. In fact it’s probably the easiest of the Penang walks that we feature on this website.

If you’re visiting Penang with kids and have some time to spare after visiting Penang Botantic Gardens, it’s worth combining your visit with Penang Youth Park, just 1km away. This is fantastic green space for kids with playgrounds, a skate park, swimming pools, and more, and is free to enter. Alternatively, how about climbing the 513 steps to the nearby Penang Waterfall Hill Temple, which is rather off the beaten track and rarely on the tourist radar, but well worth a visit?

Where to find Penang Botanic Gardens

Penang Botanic Gardens occupy 30 hectares of land near Tanjong Tokong, about 2km inland. A Grab ride from George Town should take about 20 minutes.

How to get there

The simplest way to reach Penang Botanic Gardens is in a Grab. It should only cost RM10 from George Town (although the price increases with demand), and take about 20 minutes.

Please note that the road to the entrance is partially closed while they build the new cable car to the Upper Station of Penang Hill (this commenced in June 2024 and will take a few years to complete). Therefore your Grab drive will drop you at this point and you will need to walk the 650 metres to the entrance. Motorbikes and mopeds are still allowed through.

You could theoretically take a bus from George Town or Batu Ferringhi. Several routes drop off on Jalan Burma, which is a 2km (30 minute) walk away from the Botanic Gardens. It’s an option, but we’d suggest saving your energy for the gardens themselves.

For the fit and eager amongst you, there are a few walking trails down from Penang Hill. Be prepared for some serious downhill hiking. If you manage it, you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful walk and a sense of smugness/satisfaction as you emerge near the car park.

What to take with you

As you’d expect with a botanic garden, the trees provide plenty of shade but some stretches are still exposed to the hot Penang sun, so load up on sunscreen and wear a hat if possible.

Bring plenty of water, although there is a small café to the right of the entry gates if you want some refreshments. There is also the Waterfall Cafe at the entrance to the car park.

To get the most out of the trails, you should wear proper walking shoes or trainers, although the paths are well-maintained. There are some tracks and steps leading off the main trail which offer detours via interesting sites, but otherwise the path is paved.

If you do plan to follow some of the jungle trails, make sure you’re wearing some mosquito repellent. Even if you’re just sticking to the main trails, the bugs can also be a minor nuisance.

What to expect

The first thing you’ll notice about Penang Botanic Gardens is that it is generally well-maintained and cared-for, with a couple of minor exceptions. Other botanic gardens around the world sometimes show signs of neglect and under-funding, which is understandable due to the high costs of maintaining this kind of environment. But that’s really not the case here, the tracks are well looked-after, signs are helpful and there’s a relaxed atmosphere.

There’s a well-defined walking route to follow (see below) and you can expect to encounter a fair few animal friends along the way, including dusky leaf monkeys, birds, spiders and the occasional snake.

As this is the site of a former quarry, the towering trees overlooking the park create a natural amphitheatre for you to walk around. For anyone with a particular interest in plants and trees, a trip here will be extra special. There are various indoor buildings housing interesting plant specimens which open on different days of the week.

The gardens are at their most busy on weekends, particularly Sunday mornings when they make for a popular jogging and walking route. This is probably the most pleasant and most accessible green space on Penang Island, so it’s no surprise people flock here. The road approaching the gardens can get snarled up with traffic at busy times, as large coaches block the road whilst they drop off visitors.

The Hindu festival of Thaipusam (usually late January or early February) is a major event around the Waterfall Hilltop Temple which is adjacent to the gardens. To say the surrounding area is busy during the festival would be a major understatement(!), keep this in mind if your visit coincides.

Another local name for the area is ‘Waterfall Gardens‘, so named because of the waterfall nearby. Originally the main source of the island’s fresh water, the waterfall isn’t generally open to the public aside from pre-booked tours.

The best walking route around Penang Botanic Gardens

START: Penang Botanic Gardens entry gate
DISTANCE: 2.2km
ASCENT: 65 metres

There are lots of different footpaths that weave around Penang Botanic Gardens, and some veer off into the jungle and up Penang Hill. If you’re after an easy-going Penang walk that takes in the best of the gardens, here we have a step-by-step walk guide for you.

This Penang Botanic Gardens walk follows an clockwise direction as shown in the map below.

1. From the main entry gate, walk straight ahead along the footpath. Don’t take the footpath to the right. You will be following the footpath clockwise and returning from the right at the end of this Penang Botanic Gardens walk.

2. After 170 metres the path splits in two. Take the footpath on the left, which leads gradually uphill.

3. At the top of the hill (about 500 metres on from the fork) you will cross a bridge. Shortly on your left is Waterfall Water Treatment Plant.

4. The path then splits in two. Take the higher path on the left.

5. Follow the footpath, gradually leading you downhill. You will soon pass a cactus garden on your right. At the junction take a sharp left.

6. 120 metres on, take another left past a caged garden. Follow the footpath around to the right and you will spot the signpost on the left to the Lily Pond.

7. Follow the footpath on the left to the Lily Pond. It’s a short 150 metres to the Lily Pond, which has probably seen better days.

8. Continue over the bridge to the right of the Lily Pond. Follow the path downhill to the right. This meets up with the main footpath.

9. Take a left at the main footpath and follow this back to the entry gates to complete this Penang Botanic Gardens walk.

Final thoughts on Penang Botanic Gardens

Sometimes, you just need a walk in the park. Penang is full of activities and sights but the opportunity to slow down and visit the Botanic Gardens shouldn’t be missed.

Of course, on such a naturally beautiful island, the urge to find some green space away from the city might not be as strong as elsewhere in the world, but the gardens still feel like an tranquil retreat from the rest of Penang.

Close to George Town, surrounded by all that greenery and with several walking trails to choose from, Penang Botanic Gardens will leave you feeling refreshed, recharged and ready to head back into the city.