Tapah is a town and the capital of Batang Padang District,

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

.It is one of the two gateway towns to the renowned hill retreat of Cameron Highlands alongside Simpang Pulai, with the latter situated approximately to its north. Tapah is located to the southeast of

Ipoh Ipoh (, ) is the capital city of the Malaysian States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Perak. Located on the Kinta River, it is nearly north of Kuala Lumpur and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town in neighbouring Penang ...

, the state capital city.

Name

The name "Tapah" is said to be originated from the name of a freshwater fish, ''"Ikan Tapah"''. The scientific name of the fish is '' Wallago leeri''. The locals said that the name has been taken from the

Perak Malay Perak Malay (''Bahase Peghok'' or ''Ngelabun Peghok''; Standard Malay: ''bahasa Melayu Perak''; Jawi script: بهاس ملايو ڤيراق) is one of the Malay language, Malay Malayan languages, dialects spoken within the state of Perak, Malays ...

word which means "no worry" ( Standard Malay: , colloquial speech: ).

Geography

The Batang Padang River flows through Tapah. Major neighbouring towns are Kampar and Bidor. Attributing to its location on the western foothills of the Titiwangsa Range, there are some magnificent waterfalls within its vicinity. The Lata Kinjang waterfall is about 18 km from Tapah on the road to Chenderiang. It is an impressive series of cascades down a 100 m drop. The falls can be seen from the North–South Expressway (PLUS). The other one is the Lata Iskandar waterfall, located further inland along the main route linking the town with Ringlet of Cameron Highlands.

Transport

Tapah is located on the

trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...

between

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

and

. There is an entrance to the North–South Expressway (E1) at Tapah via exit 132. This town is also widely considered as the main entry point into the old Cameron Highlands route, which is a winding and narrow road uphill. The nearest train station is Tapah Road.

References

Batang Padang District Towns in Perak {{Perak-geo-stub