Taipei Zoo (台北动物园) is not an attraction that automatically comes to mind when we talk about must-visits in Taipei. Yet interestingly, it ranked 7th on TripAdvisor’s list of things to do in Taipei (as at Dec 2016), with many positive reviews, ahead of the more famous Taipei 101 Observatory and Shilin Night Market.
Also known as Muzha Zoo (木栅动物园), it is the largest zoo in Asia with a combined area of 165 hectares. Of the 90 hectares that are open to public, there are 8 outdoor display areas and 6 indoor areas. As my boy DL puts it, ‘the zoo is big, really big!’
Getting from one animals’ display area to another in this zoo involves quite a bit of walking, sometimes up and down stairs. Not exactly easy for sedentary creatures like us. Haha!
A map of the compound from Taipei Zoo website.
Admission fees are at a very affordable NT$60 for non-resident adults and children. At the ticket sales counter, their staff did not avail the discount tickets at NT$30 to us, even though it’s pretty obvious my young ones are schooling kids. Instead, she explained that the local student pass is required to enjoy the concession rates. Its fine with us though since the adult rates are already way cheaper than the zoo at home. They accept Easycard as a mode of payment. If you have enough balance in your Easycard, just tap and enter at the turnstiles. So there’s no need to queue at the ticket counters.
We visited on a non public holiday Monday. Yet the place was pretty crowded with many young children and their parents. It is recommended to take the train from the Shuttle Train Station to the Amphibian and Reptile House on the other end of the zoo.
At a fare of NT$5 per person per trip, the train ride saved us the effort of walking more than a kilometer. You must have the exact amount though, as no change will be given. They have free art and craft activities at the Education Center, near the the Shuttle Train Station, which unfortunately we didn’t had the time for.
If you have only time for a short visit, you may want to be selective of which zones you would like to visit. The zoo is open for 8 hours a day from 9am to 5pm. We spent about 4 hours in the zoo (with a short meal break) and managed to cover only over about 3 outdoor areas and 4 indoor areas.
For a zoo that celebrates its 103rd birthday this year, it is well-kept and clean. Some exhibit areas, though, appeared to have over-grown vegetation. At some of the enclosures, the animals must be playing peek-a-boo with us as they were nowhere to be seen.
Flamingos at the Bird World. Here the birds are allowed to move around freely within the fenced area instead of being caged.
The African Elephants at the African Animal Area.
At the Penguin House, looking at these adorable aquatic birds always make our day.
Due to time-constraints, we ended up not visiting the Giant Panda House with its famous residents Yuan Zai, Yuan Yuan and Tuan Tuan. If you would like to visit them, do draw a panda-visiting ticket at the zoo entrance and note the time indicated on the ticket. Be at the Panda House 10 mins before the specified time to enter the indoor area. Here you will come face-to-face with Yuan Zai, the first panda cub born in Taiwan, and her parents.
The directional signs are in both Chinese and English.
The information boards at the animal exhibits, though, are not all bilingual. Non-Chinese visitors will not be able to understand the animal facts written but they will be able to know what they are looking at as the exhibit naming are bilingual.
There are several F&B outlets within the zoo. But the idea I like most is the presence of convenience stores with sitting area. Visitors can purchase convenience food, cup noodles and beverages and enjoy them at the sitting areas. Good for budget travelers who don’t mind the unhealthy aspects of the food (us included). A hot and cold water dispenser is placed outside the shop for their customers’ free use. Families with young can also get hot water for milk here so it really lives up to its name of being convenient.
There is also a shuttle train service to Taipei Zoo South Station, where visitors can take the Maokong Gondola. It’s more convenient going to Maokong via this route. They have empty cable cars every now and then to pick up passengers from Taipei Zoo South Station. We made the mistake of going the circuitous way via Taipei Zoo Station, erroneously thinking we may otherwise have to ride in separate cable cars. What a silly mistake! Though we did enjoy the entire ride, it was not only wasted some time but we had to make our tired DL and CL walk 130m from the zoo entrance to the station.
*****************************************
Read more about our trip itinerary and the other places we visited during the trip in Taiwan 2016 – Family Trip Itinerary.
*****************************************
Useful information
Opening hours: 9AM – 5PM (no entry after 4PM)
MRT station: Taipei Zoo
