When I was teaching English in Bangkok, Thailand my school had a school outing to Khao Kheow Open Air Zoo. Living in Thailand, it is sometimes disappointing to see the country’s attractions as they’re not always the same standard of similar attractions in the US or Europe.
In the case of Khao Kheow Open Air Zoo though, there was no disappointment at all. Khao Kheow truly is a top quality zoo with exotic wildlife, animal shows, a night safari and even bikes to rent so you can see the whole zoo.
Where is Khao Kheow Open Air Zoo? – Khao Kheow Open Air Zoo is located in Chonburi province, about an hour and a half south of Bangkok. Situated on hundreds of acres of forest land and with more than 300 species of exotic wildlife and over 8,000 animals, it’s a perfect place for a day trip.
What’s So Special About Khao Kheow? – Called an ‘open air’ zoo, what this means is animals are kept in enormous grassy enclosures in their natural habitat with lots of space to move around.
Visitors can wander around the enormous zoo at their own leisure and can get upclose and personal with many species of animals, reptiles and birds. Visitors can also rent bikes and cycle around the whole zoo on the wide open roads.
You can also take the free tram that runs all the way around the zoo, which takes about 30 minutes. From the tram you’ll see monkeys in cages, turtles crossing the road and rare white tigers prowling around.
Children will love the live animal shows, where parrots, monkeys and more do funny tricks and even interact with the audience. And, if you really love elephants, take an elephant ride on the back of one of these incredible animals.
What Kinds Of Wildlife Does Khao Kheow Zoo Have? – Just about every exotic animal, reptile and bird you can think of and a lot you’ve never heard of.
Starting with the rare white tigers (when I was there, there were white tiger cubs too), there are also Asian elephants, tigers, clouded leopards, Malayan tapirs, giraffe, emu, llama and much more . There is a huge aviary with many species of rare bird and even a penguin house, where you can see the penguins in all their freezing cold glory.
What Kinds Of Wildlife Does Khao Kheow Zoo Have? – Just about every exotic animal, reptile and bird you can think of and a lot you have never heard of.
Starting with the rare white tigers (when I was there, there were white tiger cubs too), there are also Asian elephants, tigers, clouded leopards, Malayan tapirs, giraffe, emu, llama and much more . There’s a huge aviary with many species of rare bird and even a penguin house, where you can see the penguins in all their freezing cold glory.
Children will love it too as there’s a wonderful children’s zoo where the kids can pet rabbits, guinea pigs, goats, sheep and generally have a lot of fun.
Khao Kheow Night Safari – If you stay long enough, Khao Kheow has a Night Safari that’s fun to go on. The day trams do their usual route around the zoo, but this time lights will be shone into the trees and undergrowth so you can see the nocturnal animals, as well as all the ones you saw during the day.
Finally, don’t miss the excellent open-air Thai restaurants, food stalls and souvenir shops. Khao Kheow is a wonderful day out for mom, dad and the kids and at only a 70 baht entrance fee (around $2.25) for adults, and only 30 baht ($1) for the kids, it’s an incredible deal.
For more information on the Khao Kheow Open Zoo and to see how pretty it is, watch the video below.