Best action and adventure activities in KL

Operating right by the Marina Putrajaya at Lake Putrajaya, Flyboard Malaysia is a water sports centre that offers several activities including Flyboarding, jetpacking and stand-up paddling. But the crowds come here mainly for the Flyboarding, a relatively new sport that’s picking up traction overseas.

What are essentially jet packs for your feet, the Flyboard is capable of propelling its rider up to 15m high in the air thanks to water that’s pumped under pressure to the nozzles beneath the board by an attached jet ski (you can also go underwater if you want). For something a little different and to perform tricks in air, go for the jetpacks, which employs a similar concept to the Flyboard; except that instead of individual jet packs for each foot, you'll be equipped with one strapped to your back to propel you through the air.

Marina Putrajaya, 1 Jalan P5/5, Presint 5, Putrajaya (012 287 1120/flyboardmy.com). Daily, 9am-7pm. Flyboarding, from RM370 per adult; Jetpacking, RM370 per adult.

Although similar to go-karts, Blastacars Malaysia’s vehicles are specifically designed to perform more extreme stunts like sliding and drifting, and are built and brought in from New Zealand. Each session will last ten minutes, and you’ll be drifting and racing on their 200m specially made indoor track purposed for skidding and sliding.

There are three speed caps to choose from – Novice, Advance and Pro (for which you’ll need a special Blastacars license); and they’ll provide all the necessary racing gear and equipment. Friendly staff and instructors will be on hand to brief about safety, monitor your races, and even teach tricks to develop your skills.

Fifth floor, Sungei Wang Plaza, 11 Jalan Sultan Ismail, Bukit Bintang, KL (012 887 8485/blastacars.my). Daily, 10am-12midnight. Novice, RM60; Advance, RM90; Pro, RM100.

There are few sports and activities that get more extreme than whitewater rafting – rapid currents, tight river passages, little control over your path; what’s not to love? For a taste, Xventure Mind carries out whitewater rafting activities at Kuala Kubu Bharu river and Ulu Slim river at relatively affordable rates.

The route begins at the start of the river not far from the Selangor Dam, where currents don’t pose much of a challenge (rated at Class II and Class III difficulty levels). As the course progresses however, you’ll head into rapids with currents of up to Class IV difficulty levels – that’s when the adrenaline really starts pumping. Throw in small drops, big splashes and a couple of tough corners and you’ve got yourself a trip that’ll take you the whole weekend to recover from.

Meet-up point: Pos Malaysia Kuala Kubu Bharu, 165 Jalan Abdul Hamid, Pekan Kuala Kubu Bharu, Hulu Selangor (012 465 3307/malaysia-whitewater-rafting.com). RM150 per pax with a minimum of five per raft.

Paintball – the combative warfare game that brings out the best (or possibly the worst) in all of us, and one where you’ll actually have battle scars after to show off.

At Kombat Zone Paintball there are two fields to play in – Barrel City and Cherry Village. In Barrel City, stacked barrels are placed close to each other to encourage fast-paced matches and games where participants must run from cover to cover to survive. Over at Cherry Village, there are sniper towers and sentry posts for you to set up defenses, making it more suitable for ‘capture the flag’ games where you have to fend off attackers. Marshals will be overseeing the battles and your safety, and there’s even a mini pool to freshen up in after the games.

Lot 16060, Jalan Taman Zooview, Kampung Kemensah, Ulu Klang (019 312 0888/fb.com/kombatzonepaintball). Daily, 9am-6pm. Weekend packages from RM30; weekday packages from RM60.

Although running around in a plastic ball isn’t quite as extreme as the other activities on this list, you can’t deny that it’s still a whole lot of fun. Arena 51 is a game centre that offers Zorb ball-based games in their aptly called Bubble Arena. After a safety briefing and strapping yourself into a bubble, you’re ready to bounce around, literally.

In each session, there are three games – futsal, rugby and tower defense (where you have to protect your team’s king). Each group will be provided with ten bubbles, so players will have to take turns. Game marshals will be on hand to brief you about the rules before each match and referees will keep tabs on the score; so all you need to do is bounce around and have fun!

 Sports Garage, Jalan 19/1, Seksyen 19, PJ (018 282 2012/arena51.my). Packages from RM620.

If you don’t already know, Batu Caves is – besides being one of the most popular religious landmarks in the country – also a frequent destination for rock climbers. The crags at the cave’s entrance present around 160 different routes of various lengths and difficulties to scale; some routes only go halfway up the cave wall, while others take climbers all the way to its 150m high peak.

Verticale offers guided rock climbing sessions for participants of all skill levels – the easiest course is suitable for beginners with little to no experience in rock climbing, where a professional will guide your group up the easiest route; for this route, the preparation and entire duration of the climb will only take half a day. There’s also a private guiding service for more experienced climbers where a guide will lead you up several routes in a one-on-one session.

Batu Caves (03 6178 4348/verticale.my). Courses from RM118 per pax.

For off-road driving adventures, ATV Adventure Park offers a range of packages that will bring you through the jungles of Ulu Klang, on individual trails of varying durations and difficulties.

There’s a trail that’ll take between one-and-a-half hours and two that’ll lead you over muddy paths and end with an opportunity to swim under the Sofea Jane Waterfall; or you can ride up and down hilly areas to test the limits of the ATVs’ (and your) endurance; or go for the toughest package, a three- to four-hour off-road ride – through Bukit Tabur, Sungai Liza and Bukit Lalang – that’s complete with steep hills, rough terrains and a river trail that will end with a gorgeous view of the KL city skyline.

Off Jalan Taman Zooview, Kampung Kemensah, Ulu Klang (019 340 7835/atvadventurepark.com). Daily, 9am-6pm (closed 11am-3pm on Fridays). From RM100 per person.