Ling Sen Tong Temple – Unique For Its Colorful Appearance

Exploring Ling Sen Tong Temple does not take long. On the other hand, getting to this cave temple is a bit inconvenient if you don’t have your own car.

But the journey is worth it since you can see this temple and a few others in the same row.

If you want to know more about how Ling Sen Tong Temple is different from other cave temples, keep on reading.

Interesting Facts

• Ling Sen Tong was built in late 60s, making it ~50 years old
• The temple got a contemporary face lift in 1983
• When translated, Ling Sen Tong means Rock (or cliff) of Heavenly Spirits
• The cave walls of Ling Sen Tong are notably black from decades of incense smoke
• There is both Buddhist and Taoist influence at Ling Sen Tong
• The founder and his wife are buried at Ling Sen Tong

What You Should Know About Ling Sen Tong Temple

Ling Sen Tong is a Taoist/ Buddhist temple in Gunung Rapat. The temple usually has visitors, even on weekdays. And it shares a wall with another cave temple (Nam Thean Tong).

There are no entrance fees for Ling Sen Tong Temple, and you don’t have to pay anything to park outside either. Donation boxes are all around the compound of the temple.

If you need to depend on an e-hailing service for transport:

We recommend starting your exploration with the deepest temple first – Sam Poh Tong. Before walking over to Nam Thean Tong and finally, Ling Sen Tong.

Expect to spend less than 20 minutes at Ling Sen Tong. You can climb up above the temple too. This will allow you to get close to the 4 large figures and the reclining buddha figure.

What To See At Ling Sen Tong Temple

We did not come to Ling Sen Tong Temple to pray. And thus, we can only share our opinions from a tourist point of view.

Ling Sen Tong Temple is easy to find with its bright colors that are true to traditional Taoist tendencies. Because of this, it does look a bit like a theme park. Especially since some of the statues in the temple grounds have a childish appearance.

There is an outer and an inner courtyard. The outer courtyard has benches to sit on, and statues of the animal zodiac. There are also figures from popular Chinese myth, Journey to the West.

And other religious figures from Taoist (and Buddhist) scripture. But the most prominent statue in this courtyard is the tall Guan Yin statue in the middle.

Nearby, you may spot a wishing tree for visitors to hang wishes on too.

The inner courtyard is through a red arch. And it is almost the same size as the outer courtyard. There are only a few statues here, but the walls are brightly painted with scenes from Chinese legends and mythology.

If you look up, you can see the reclining buddha as it is close to the inner courtyard.

At the left-most side of the temple grounds is where you’ll find a statue of the Monkey King.

Don’t forget to look up too, because the limestone karsts and greenery around the temple are beautiful too.

Enter the prayer hall by going up some steps with ponds on either side – the ponds have fish and turtles.

Note: There is an information board (dated 1995) beside the steps into the prayer hall of the temple if you want to know more about the temple and the founder

The prayer hall is built into a cave. However the cave of Ling Sen Tong is relatively small compared to other cave temples in Ipoh.

Conclusion

Check out Ling Sen Tong Temple if you’re in the area to see Sam Poh Tong. Even though this well-maintained temple is not particularly attractive, it looks very different from other cave temples you will see in Ipoh.

If you have time to spare, you can climb up Ling Sen Tong for further exploration too.

PS: If you want to see a prayer hall inside a large and impressive natural cave, we recommend Kek Look Tong.