Menara KL Tower
Along with the Petronas Twin Towers, Menara KL Tower is easily Malaysia’s most recognizable and popular landmark. Constructed in 1994, the tower stands at 421 metres and effortlessly trumps the Petronas Twin Towers with the highest and most spectacular view of the city. This gleaming tower’s spindle-like apex is visible from almost anywhere in Kuala Lumpur.
Menara KL’s viewing deck is, at 276 metres, at least 100 metres higher than the Petronas Twin Towers’ Skybridge; the view is marvellous during the day and even better at night when you can see the entire sparkling city centre.
The tower is erected atop the Bukit Nanas (Pineapple Hill) Forest Reserve – the oldest gazetted forest reserve in the country, which houses age-old trees as well as flora and fauna indigenous to Malaysia’s tropical climate. Primarily used as a communications infrastructure, it is the fifth-tallest telecommunications tower in the world.
When it was originally built, the natural surroundings of Bukit Nanas were kept intact to ensure balance in development; in fact a 100-year-old Jelutong tree was preserved, at great cost, by building a retaining wall around it.
When Menara KL Tower was constructed the overall design was meant to represent the human journey for perfection in life. The tower’s architectural-style reflects Malaysia’s vibrant Islamic heritage with Arabic scripts, Islamic tiles, and archetypal Islamic floral and abstract patterns.
The structure has ‘Muqarnas’ – a type of corbel used as a decorative device in traditional Islamic and Persian architecture – underscoring its design as homage to the revival of Islamic architectural heritage. The main lobby of the upper ground floor is decorated with exquisite glass-clad domes that sparkle like giant diamonds; the tower’s familiar globular pinnacle is inspired by a Malaysian spinning top.
Revolving Atmosphere 360 restaurant at Menara KL Tower
Currently the eighteenth-tallest freestanding structure in the world, Menara KL plays host to a revolving restaurant, Atmosphere 360. You can have a meal or enjoy high tea along with the most spectacular view of the city centre, bar chartering a helicopter. Boasting a theatre, an amphitheatre, beautiful cascading pools, a fast food restaurant and souvenir shops, this tower is a definite must-see sightseeing attraction when you visit Kuala Lumpur.