St. Paul's Hill & Church (Bukit St. Paul), Melaka State, Malaysia

4CED 5:00 PM Feb 24, 2023

Worth it for the view
It’s a short but fairly steep climb to the top of the hill, but well worth the effort even if only for the view over Melaka to the sea. The church is not a total ruin as the walls are fairly well preserved. The sign boards give a clear understanding of the varying periods of use of the building. There are numerous well preserved tomb stones one of which commemorates Nicolaus Basly who ‘in his life was a free citizen’, indicating that others were not.

4Jenny Y 5:00 PM Feb 11, 2020

Historical spot!
We arrived at St Paul's Hill in the afternoon after lunch. It was a very hot day and made the steep climb up the hill very exhausting. Unfortunately we didn't do our research and our guide did not warn us of the steepness of the hill as one of us found the climb difficult and had to stop many times to catch the breath. Apart from this, the Church ruins is famous because it was the last resting place of St Francis Xavier before his body was taken to Goa as per his wishes. When he passed away it was the stormy monsoon season so they couldn't transport his body to Goa; therefore the body was kept here temporarily. There is a statue of him at the front of the church before entering it. This statue has a very interesting story to it - you can find out yourself or ask your guide! I don't want to spoil it for you! You'll be able to take some nice shots from the top of this hill so that's an added bonus to make it to the top! My advice if you are coming to this place, is to do it in the morning on your arrival in Malacca, as the walk and climb up the hill will tire you out. After this it will be best if you went to a fully air-conditioned cafe or restaurant to rest before you carry on your tour of Malacca! Even the younger persons in our group were worn out after the climb which coupled with the very hot sun slowed us down a lot!