Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat


Useful Information

Location: Tambun, Ipoh. Notrth of the famous Lost World of Tambun.
Open: All year daily.
[2010]
Fee:
Classification: SubterraneaCave House
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address: The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat, No 1, Persiaran Lagun Sunway 3, 31150, Ipoh, Perak, Darul Ridzuan, Tel: +60-5-210-7777, Fax: +60-5-210-7778. E-mail: contact
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1996 land purchased by the Sunway Group.
2007 start of development.
JAN-2010 opened to the public.

Description

The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat a place to rejuvenate, recover from an illness, detoxify, or get in shape. The spa hotel is located on 6 ha rain forests with limestone caves. This place is actually named after a ridge of the Titiwangsa Range, the central mountain range of Peninsular Malaysia. This ridge runs across the grounds, and the Bahasa Malaysia word for ridge is Banjaran. The view to this impressive white limestone towers is one of the great features of this resort.

Beneath the karst caves there is another geologic speciality on the site: geothermal hot springs, which are believed to be beneficial for rheumatism and eczema. The yield of the spring is enormous, three million litres of water daily, with temperatures between 40 °C and 70 °C. One cave is filled with steam from one well, and used as a natural steam sauna.

The hotel itself matches the great surroundings. There are 25 guest villas blending into the landscape and constructed almost completely from local materials. The thatched roofs are constructed from palm leaves, the walls from stone and wood. Recycled wood, deadwood and driftwood were used for the interior decorations. The living area floor is lined with famous Ipoh marble.

The reason why we listed the hotel on showcaves.com are the caves. There is a meditation cave, with wooden trails and plateaus inside. This natural limestone cave with abundant speleothems was developed carefully into a great place for meditation. Actually, it is the only cave we know which is solely intended for meditation. We guess it is possible because of the high temperatures in tropic caves. Caves in temperate climates are much too chilly to comfortably stay underground for a longer time. The development was made extremely carefully using natural material like bamboo wood.

Another cave is heated by the hot spring water and used as a steam bath. The spring has a yield of three Million litres (~2,000 l/minute) of 65 °C to 70 °C hot water per day and forms a pool of hot water. Together with cold springs, this was used to create a series of pools with different temperatures, from hot to ice baths. The Spa and Wellness Centre offers hydro baths, Ayurvedic therapy, and colonic hydrotherapy. The hot spring water is also used to fill the plunge pool and sunken Jacuzzi which every garden villa has.

Jeff's Cellar is actually a wine cave, which in this case means, a natural cave developed into a wine cellar. The formations here are extraordinary and very well lit. There are huge stalagmites surrounded by rimstone pools and patches of bulbous aragonite concretions.