Understanding modern Malaysia is all about getting to grips with its multicultural history, and Malacca is the perfect place to begin. This World Heritage port town has been around for centuries, and you can still trace the course of its history in its architecture, food and culture today. To help you untangle this complicated web of influences, join your local guide for a historical walking tour of the city. Munching on freshly baked Portuguese tarts and Peranakan delicacies as you go, discover how this jigsaw puzzle of red Dutch clock towers, Hindu temples, and sumptuous Chinese-Malay merchant houses fits together to form the DNA of modern Malaysia.

At first glance, KL could be any Asian city — but dig a little deeper and you’ll discover just how wrong that is. How many modern metropolises have a 120-year-old traditional village nestled among the skyscrapers, complete with tin-roofed stilt houses, free-range chickens and banana palms? Or Hindu cave temples where psychedelic dioramas tell the epic story of the Ramayana? We’ll tell you: none. Plus, you'll discover Little India and the country's uses of pewter along the way. To cap it all off, visit one of the world’s iconic landmarks: the Petronas Towers.

At 130 million years and counting, Taman Negara is one of the oldest ecosystems on the planet. Arriving by longboat on the Tembelling River, you’ll begin by exploring the forest after dark — its busiest time of day — with a ranger who’ll point out creepy crawlies, snakes, and spiders. Then, get a different perspective from a suspension bridge in the treetops, before rounding off your visit with a cruise upriver to a tumbling waterfall where you can bathe in forest pools beneath trailing vines. Mammal sightings in Taman Negara may be rare, but this is an extraordinary chance to feel dwarfed by the scale and antiquity of one of Earth’s last great forests.

Strawberries and cream tea amid rolling green hills? No, it’s not the Yorkshire moors — it’s the Cameron Highlands. Once, this undulating landscape was completely covered in misty montane forest; now its gentle slopes are blanketed in emerald-green tea fields as far as the eye can see. Find out how some of Asia’s finest tea is planted, plucked, rolled, dried and packed at the Sungei Palas tea factory, then taste it and see for yourself whether it rivals PG Tips. Later, you’ll get a glimpse of the Highlands’ wilder side with a hike through woods cloaked in lichens and liverworts, where your guide will point out orchids, spices and medicinal herbs growing wild on the forest floor.

As you descend from the Cameron Highlands, stop in at the old mining town of Ipoh on your way to George Town, Penang. If Malacca is a window on the early Portuguese and Dutch heritage of Malaysia, George Town represents the colonial British era, from the end of the 18th century. Get the lie of the land on a beca (trishaw) tour, eating street food accompanied by the strains of local bands. You'll also have some free time to potter the town, discovering modern street art pieces interspersed among the historic buildings.

We’re all for cultural activities and historical tours, but what’s a vacation without a little bit of relaxation? Balancing out your action-packed itinerary with some good old-fashion2d beach time, the tropical island of Langkawi makes a wonderful wind-down — and a fantastic contrast to the landscapes you’ve seen so far on your trip. Though it’s all about taking it slow for this final section of the vacation, we would suggest a couple of experiences (a boat tour through the mangroves, and a snorkeling excursion to the coral reefs) because they’re just too good to miss.