How walkable is Kuching?
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
Kuching has a walkability score of 67 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre, which makes it somewhat walkable: some errands can be done on foot. It is the joint 6th most walkable of the 18 cities ranked in Malaysia, with 1 other.
What's within walking distance of the centre
1,281 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Kuching. The nearest grocery is about 17 minutes away on foot. It earns full or nearly full points for restaurants & bars, shopping, coffee and parks. It is weakest for groceries.
Groceries
- 老李咖啡店, 17 min
- Everrise Departmental Store, 21 min
Restaurants & bars
- Moto Moto Cafe Formerly The Chop Shop, 6 min
- Fish Buddy Aquarium and Cafe, 6 min
Shopping
- BROWN Furniture, 4 min
- Maxtrack Curtain Blinds, 4 min
Coffee
- 668 Cafe Tabuan Jaya, 7 min
- Fifty8 Café, 8 min
Banks
- OCBC Bank, 18 min
- Maybank, 19 min
Parks
- Le'Park, 9 min
- Panggung Udara Kuching, 9 min
Schools
- Chung Hua Primary School No. 1, 11 min
- Smart Reader Kids Jalan Datuk Mohd Musa, 11 min
Books & libraries
- Pusat Sumber SMK Tinggi Kuching, 15 min
- Popular Bookstore, 22 min
Culture & entertainment
- Planetarium Sultan Iskandar (PSI), 9 min
- Petrosains Playsmart Kuching, 9 min
Further than usual
- The nearest grocery is 17 minutes from the centre on foot, against 5 minutes for the median city ranked.
- The nearest restaurant is 5 minutes from the centre on foot, against 1 minute for the median city ranked.
- The nearest bank is 16 minutes from the centre on foot, against 4 minutes for the median city ranked.
Measured from the centre at 1.5461, 110.3491, the point near Kuching's middle with the most places in walking range. Walking times assume 80 m per minute along an estimated street route.
Street layout
Within 800 m of the centre there are about 91 street intersections per km², and blocks average 78 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced.
How far walkability reaches
Kuching's score of 67 is the average across the 5 km around its centre, the point with the most everyday places within a walk. Walkability averages 82 within 1 km of the centre, 79 from 1 to 3 km out and 58 from 3 to 5 km out. 55% of the sampled area scores 70 or more, where most errands can be done on foot.
- 90+
- 70–89
- 50–69
- 25–49
- 0–24
Each hexagon is the score at a point, 1 km from its neighbours, across the 5 km around central Kuching. Rings mark 1, 3 and 5 km from the centre. Gaps are water or land without streets.
| Area | Score | Scoring 70+ |
|---|---|---|
| Centre | 75 | 100% |
| Within 1 km | 82 | 86% |
| 1 to 3 km out | 79 | 79% |
| 3 to 5 km out | 58 | 37% |
Nearby cities
| City | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Pontianak, Indonesia | 209 km | 55 |
| Miri, Malaysia | 516 km | 50 |
| Batam, Indonesia | 703 km | 61 |
| Singapore, Singapore | 722 km | 81 |
| Johor Bahru, Malaysia | 732 km | 64 |
Questions about walking in Kuching
Is Kuching a walkable city?
Partly. Kuching has a walkability score of 67 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre, which makes it somewhat walkable: some errands can be done on foot. Its centre scores 75. The score covers about 80 km² around the busiest point rather than the whole city, and suburbs further out are usually less walkable, so check a specific address on the map. It ranks joint 6th of 18 cities in Malaysia and joint 341st of 690 worldwide on How Walkable.
What is the most walkable city in Malaysia?
Petaling Jaya is the most walkable of the 18 cities ranked in Malaysia, with a score of 80. Kuching ranks joint 6th with 67.
How does Kuching compare with nearby cities?
Kuching is more walkable than its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 67, against Pontianak (55, 209 km away), Miri (50, 516 km away) and Batam (61, 703 km away).
Which part of Kuching is most walkable?
Kuching is most walkable beyond 2.5 km to the south, where walkability averages 85, more than the 82 within 1 km of its centre. The centre itself, the point with the most places in walking range, scores 75. It falls most to the north (37).
How is Kuching's walkability score calculated?
For Kuching it is the average of 85 points spaced 1 km apart within 5 km of its busiest point, leaving out water and land without streets; 47 of them score 70 or more. Each point counts groceries, restaurants, shops, cafés, banks, parks, schools, libraries and cultural venues within a 30 minute walk, gives nearer places more weight, and loses up to 20% where streets are sparse or blocks are long, using open map data from Overture Maps (release 2026-09-23.1) and OpenStreetMap. It measures what is within a walk, not what the walk is like: pavements, traffic, safety, hills and heat are not part of the score.
This page is generated from open map data with a published walkability method, explained in the methodology. Places from Overture Maps release 2026-09-23.1. City position and population from GeoNames.
Ask about walking anywhere in ChatGPT with the How Walkable app, for example "How walkable is Kuching?"