Tourism

Beaches

Kuantan's main sightseeing attraction is the beach at Teluk Cempedak. There are scenic beaches popular among vacationers in the city's vicinity, such as Batu Hitam, Balok, Chenor, Pantai Sepat, Beserah, and Cherating. Near Cherating (Club Med is located here) there are turtle sanctuaries. A few kilometres away from Cherating is Pulau Ular (Snake Island). There is a legend connected with this island.

Waterfalls and parks

Kuantan is known to tourists for its waterfalls. The most well-known is the Sungai Pandan Waterfall. Two others are the Sungai Berkelah Waterfall and the Jerangkang Waterfall.
There are four parks in the city, the Gelora Park, Teruntum Mini Zoo, Gambang Safari Park and Agriculture Park at Indera Mahkota. A small park across the main road (and next to the river) in front of the Hospital is named the Esplanade Park or Downtown Kuantan. Here, it is possible to go on a river cruise from the small jetty. The Kuantan area also produces handicrafts and batik. Other tourist attractions include the State Mosque (Masjid Negeri).

Sungai Lembing

Sungai Lembing is located about 26 km northwest of Kuantan. It used to contain the world's deepest underground tin mines. There is an interesting Tin Museum in the former mining town of Sungai Lembing. Just north of the Tin Museum is a "hanging bridge" (jambatan bergantung). Access is via a narrow, winding road at the base of the entrance to the Tin Museum. There is another hanging bridge on the outskirts of Sungai Lembing town (visible from the main road, on the right side). There is a Panorama Hill which provides an impressive pre-dawn view. On the Kuantan-Sungai Lembing road at the hamlet of Pancing, there is a limestone mountain which houses a large reclining Buddha in one of its caves, Charah Cave.^[19] The highest peak, Gunung Tapis, also can be accessed from here.

Theme parks

Bukit Gambang Resort City (BGRC) is one of the largest water theme park resorts in Malaysia, spanning 547 acres and offering a 17.1-acre lake, and a 24,000 square feet wave pool. Bukit Gambang Safari Park, the biggest safari in east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.^[20]

Accommodations

The 5-star hotels in Kuantan are The Zenith Hotel and Mangala Resort and Spa, while the 4-star hotels include Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort, Swiss-Garden Beach Resort, Vistana Hotel Kuantan, MS Garden Hotel, Samsuria Beach Resort & Residence and The Legend Resort.

Shopping

Main shopping malls in Kuantan:

• East Coast Mall is a shopping mall which consists of built-up area of 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m²) and houses a number of fashion labels including Charles & Keith, Bonia, Guess, Pandora, Esprit, Samsonite, Giordano, Clarks, Padini Concept Store, Brands Outlet, Quicksilver, Royal Sporting House, Carlo Rino and many more. Anchor tenants include AEON BiG, Parkson, a nine-screen GSC cinema complex and K Mix KTV. Located in Putra Square which consists of a hotel and corporate towers, convention centre and cultural towns.
• Berjaya Megamall opened in 1998 and is still a great place for shopping. Two concourse mall houses great fashion boutiques and shops. Berjaya Megamall has Parkson, Giant, Apple K KTV, Megalanes Bowling, a snooker centre, and a five-screen GSC cinema.
• Kuantan Parade Anchor's tenant is The Store. With great popularity, celebrities roadshows or events are always held here.
• Teruntum Complex. The earliest shopping mall in Kuantan. The complex is famous with cellular shop and Xanax KTV, which the biggest KTV in the East Coast.

Other shopping complexes are Kuantan Plaza, Pasar Besar (The Store), Mydin, Kamdar and Giant Hypermarket. There are also many supermarkets from the local retailer such Tunas Manja, Terus Maju, Eng Hong, Nirwana, LYC and Jaya Gading.

Culture

Cuisine

Kuantan is famous for its delicious fish crackers (called keropok in Malay) and salted fish, where the fish are marinated mainly with salt and left out to dry in the sun for days. 'Ikan Bakar' or grilled fish can be purchased at Tanjung Lumpur.
Very popular and sold by street vendors (especially at the night markets) are varieties of satay which consists of grilled meat on a stick which is dipped into peanut sauce and roti canai, a thick chapati-like bread dipped in a unique curry style sauce.
Typical ethnic Indian dishes include the naan and tandoori chicken.
Many types of local food can be found at the Pasar (Market) at the town centre. A variety of Kuala Lipis noodles are available at the corner of the Pasar's entrance.