The Shah Alam Lake Gardens (Taman Tasik Shah Alam) is Selangor’s first public park, opening in 1985. It spans 43 hectares and is home to about a hundred species of trees, birds and fish. There are three man-made lakes, an art gallery, and even a water park! Shah Alam Lake Gardens is one of KL’s better-maintained parks and is popular with Malay locals for a relaxing day out.
How to Get to Shah Alam Lake Gardens
Car
The Lake Gardens are right on top of the flower roundabout that merges the Federal Highway with the Shah Alam Highway. The fastest route is Federal Highway Route 2 from downtown KL. There is parking at multiple lots around the park, and as far as I know, parking is free.
Bus
You can take a bus, but it will take over an hour from a hub like KL Sentral. The 750 bus boards at Suasana Central Loft near KL Sentral Station and goes straight there without transfers. There’s also the Wawasan710 that boards at Brickfields TM that doesn’t require changing buses.
E-Hailing
If you don’t have a car, the easiest method is using ridesharing services like Grab. We paid only RM35 from Mont Kiara, 28km away. When leaving, we had no trouble getting Grab back home since this is a busy area of Shah Alam.
Admission Price & Opening Hours of Shah Alam Lake Gardens
Taman Tasik Shah Alam is free to enter. It is open 24 hours. However, some entrances might be closed outside of daylight hours.
Attractions at Shah Alam Lake Gardens
Lakes
The obvious activity is to wander the path around the park! There are three lakes to explore: West Lake, Central Lake and East Lake, all with their highlights.
The lakes have walkways to islands with picture spots you shouldn’t miss. Some have the perfect angle to capture the blue-topped Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque. I didn’t see any public tables, but that didn’t stop a few groups from having a pleasant picnic on the grass.
What’s a lake without water activities? Antan Batura Watersport has a stall next to the Kak Anie Shellrock restaurant. Here, you can rent different boats to take around the lakes.
I’m not sure if they were here for a special event, but the West Lake path had a bunch of vendors selling handicrafts, food and even gardening supplies. There were more tents near the art gallery, but these appeared to be for some corporate outreach. All of these might not exist during your visit.
Wet World Water Park
Wet World Water Park Shah Alam is a family-friendly water park at the edge of the West Lake. It didn’t look very large from what I could spot, but it’ll probably be good enough for the kids. The water park is open every day from 10 am to 6 pm. It closes on Wednesdays unless it is a public or school holiday. Wet World Shah Alam tickets cost RM20-RM35.
Shah Alam Art Gallery
This red-toned building at the West Lake houses a small collection of Malaysian art consisting of paintings and sculptures. I wrote a dedicated post covering the Shah Alam Art Gallery that you can check out.
Japanese Friendship Garden
The Japanese Friendship Garden is next to the East Lake (Taman Timur). For some reason, all paths to the garden within the park were locked behind huge wooden doors. We had to leave the Lake Gardens and enter via the road (Persiaran Bandar Raya) through the Japanese Garden’s torii gate entrance at the parking lot.
It did feel like we were transported to Japan. If it weren’t for the heat and the lack of women in kimonos, it would feel like Kyoto. The shrine-like building overlooking the pond houses a museum. It looked closed, and there was no one tending the ticket desk when we passed by.
There’s everything you’d expect to see in a Japanese Garden: a koi pond, a reflexology path, and manicured bonsai trees. We had to skip a lot, including the Maze Pond and a water fountain with the iconic The Great Wave Off Kanagawa painted on the wall behind it since the park was closing. The Japanese Friendship Garden’s opening hours are 10 am to 6:30 pm on Tuesdays through Sundays. The garden is closed on Mondays.
Facilities
Toilets are at regular intervals around all three lakes across Shah Alam Park. Some are much better than others. The toilet directly across from the Kak Anie Shellrock restaurant was terrible, with no toilet paper, no soap and only one sitting toilet. I used a washroom next to the Shah Alam Art Gallery that was nicer. The women’s room had only squat toilets, but there was a disabled room with everything I needed. Expect the majority of the facilities at the park to have squatters and maybe keep some pocket tissues handy.
There is also a surau on the top left corner of the West Lake, though it’s not obvious on the park maps.
What to Eat
Kak Anie Shellrock Tasik Shah Alam
Click on menu pictures to enlarge
Kak Anie Shellrock is a seafood restaurant at the south end of the West Lake. It is open-air and has a beautiful view of the lake from its covered deck. The menu was all local food, and there was a separate steamboat counter by the entrance. Just past the steamboat section, there is a handwashing station for quick clean-ups.
Central Lake Restaurants
Kedai Kopi is a casual eatery on the north side of the central lake, near the waterfall feature. It’s outdoors but covered. The food is simple dishes like nasi goreng and kopitam-style drinks.
Restoran Chandat @ Terapung and Restoran SACC Kelana Seafood are on the opposite side of the lake in a building that looks like a bunker. The ambience is much more classy, with a raised deck over the water. Both restaurants focus on seafood and are suitable for a meal that’s a step up from super casual.
Food Trucks
I saw food trucks at the Orchid Garden entrance off Persiaran Tasik. We visited on a Saturday, so there’s a good chance they’ll be there on the weekends. I don’t think they’ll set up during weekdays unless it’s a holiday. I saw trucks offering fried food, shakes, takoyaki and rice dishes. There were also small tables and stools for visitors to eat at.
Saturday Worthy?
It’s easy to have a lovely day at the Shah Alam Lake Gardens. If you can stand the heat, you could easily spend a day here. I wouldn’t recommend it to foreign tourists, considering how far it is from the city and how difficult it is to visit without a car. Tourists have a wealth of other unique KL attractions to fill their time. Those who are here for a longer time, like Malaysians and expats, and enjoy the outdoors should visit the Lake Gardens at least once.
