The Night Safari
Nocturnal animals at their liveliest.
A long-established zoo that opened in 1961 in the shade of green hills beside the Lake Gardens, the only zoo in northern Malaysia, home to more than a thousand animals of many kinds of mammals, birds and reptiles in enclosures scattered among big trees. In 2003 the zoo added its Night Safari, one of Malaysia's first, where visitors wander after dark to see nocturnal animals at their most active, a completely different atmosphere from a daytime visit that children especially love. A non-citizen adult ticket is forty ringgit by day and fifty for the Night Safari, roughly half that for children, and tickets include the small tram inside the zoo. It opens daily from half past eight in the morning to six in the evening, and the Night Safari from eight to eleven at night. Come in the morning, when the animals are active and the air cooler, or pair an afternoon stroll in the Lake Gardens with the Night Safari after dark. Bring insect repellent for the night visit.
Nocturnal animals at their liveliest.
Enclosures in the shade of the hills.
A small tram included in the ticket.
Next to the Lake Gardens at the foot of Bukit Larut, Taiping
Taiping Lake GardensThe first public garden created in Malaya, laid out in 1880 on an abandoned tin 9 minutes walk
All Saints' Church, TaipingA small white timber church in Gothic style, founded in 1886 and consecrated in 10 minutes walk
Taiping War CemeteryA quiet military cemetery cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on10 minutes walk
Perak MuseumThe oldest museum in Malaysia, founded in 1883 by Sir Hugh Low, the fourth Briti11 minutes walk
Bukit Larut (Maxwell Hill)Malaysia's oldest hill station, set up by the British in 1884 on the forested he15 minutes walkWith small children the daytime visit is easier, while the Night Safari is a different experience worth the time if you are staying overnight in Taiping. Each has its own ticket.