Tapah is the administrative town of the district Batang Padang

Batang Padang

Batang Padang is an administrative district in Perak, Malaysia. This district is administered by two local councils, namely, the Tapah District Council, based in Tapah, and Tanjung Malim District Council, based in Tanjung Malim....

, Perak

Perak

Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...

, Malaysia (with coordinates: 4.20°N 101.26°E).

The name "Tapah" is said to be originated from the name of a fresh water fish, "Ikan Tapah". The scientific name of the fish is Wallago attu

Wallago attu

Wallago attu is a species of catfish in the family Siluridae, or "sheatfishes". The fish is commonly known by its genus name, wallago. Found in large rivers and lakes, it can reach 2.4 m total length...

.
The locals said that the name has been taken from the Malay-Perak dialect word which means "no worry".

The Batang Padang River flows through this town, which is located on the main road between Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

 and Ipoh

Ipoh

Ipoh is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway....

. Major neighbouring towns are Kampar

Kampar, Perak

Kampar Kampar Kampar (Chinese:金宝） is a town in the state of Perak, Malaysia. Founded in 1887, the town lies within the Kinta Valley and located in the newly-created Kampar District, an area rich with tin reserves. It was a tin mining town which boomed during the height of the tin mining industry....

 and Bidor

Bidor

Bidor is a small town in the district of Batang Padang, Perak, Malaysia. Chinese name is 美罗.-Geography:Bidor is located between Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur via the North-South Expressway...

. There is an entrance to the North-South Expressway at Tapah. This town is also widely considered as the main entry point into the old Cameron Highlands

Cameron Highlands

The Cameron Highlands is one of Malaysia’s most extensive hill stations. It covers an area of .To the north, its boundary touches that of Kelantan; to the west, it shares part of its border with Perak....

 route, which is a winding and narrow road uphill. The nearest train station is Tapah Road

Tapah Road

Tapah Road is a small town which is located near Tapah, in the state of Perak, in Malaysia. The population consists of 40% Muslim Malays, 30% Chinese, 20% Indians and a few indigenous.-History:...

. The Lata Kinjang waterfall is about 18 km from Tapah on the road to Chenderiang

Chenderiang

Chenderiang is a small town in Perak, Malaysia. The town is located approximately 14 kilometres from Tapah town....

. It is an impressive series of cascades down a 100 m drop. The falls can be seen from the North-South Expressway.

The population of Tapah is about 80,000.