Perlis Snake and Reptile Farm (Taman Ular dan Reptilia Negeri Perlis) has been listed on Perlis tourist maps as a highlighted tourist attraction for more than twenty years. But if you’ve ever been to a snake farm, well, once in a life time is probably enough for anyone. However the Perlis Snake Farm may be an exception. Despite my later-in-life, personal feeling about animals in captivity for ‘entertainment’ I give the Perlis Snake and Reptile Farm kudos for their efforts, and I think it’s definitely worth a visit.
What I’ve learned over the years about various animal sanctuaries and petting zoo type places, is that in Malaysia, many started as research centers. Especially when it comes to reptiles. My enlightenment originally came from learning the shocking truth about elephant riding and from there I just went down a rabbit hole of information about all sorts of critters; alligators, birds, elephants, snakes and more.
What happens to all the animals after research funding dries up? They are either humanely killed or kept alive with what little money is scraped together to buy food. Or… they become part of a sightseeing venue.
The Perlis Snake Farm began life as a medical research facility in 1978. Their initial research goal was to develop antivenom to treat snakebites. They are even referenced at the Biomedical Museum in Kuala Lumpur in the museum’s reptile research section. In 1995, the Perlis snake/medical research facility was turned over to the Perlis State Economic Development Corporation for tourism purposes.
Although, Perlis Snake and Reptile Farm’s brochure still claims to be the largest snake farm in Malaysia with more than 150 poisonous and non-poisonous on site, those stats may be slightly off now, as there are presently other snake farms in Peninsula Malaysia; one claiming to be the ‘only’ snake farm, and another claiming to be the ‘biggest’.
Regardless of the reptilian turf wars, the Perlis snake farm was probably the first snake farm in Peninsula Malaysia and is (was) apparently listed in the Malaysian Book of Records as the biggest. Yes, there is such a thing as the Malaysian Book of Records, but unfortunately their website is a bit challenging to find the snake category to locate older records.
Perlis Snake and Reptile Farm
The Perlis Snake and Reptile Farm is located on 12 acres of land in Sungai Batu Pahat, Kangar. It’s surrounded by the Bukit Bintang Forest Reserve woodlands, giving it more of an animal sanctuary vibe than a zoo. The farm is spacious and broken up into several sections, with easy to read sign boards pointing the way. Covered cement walkways connect the various sections making it essentially wheelchair and stroller friendly.
The snake gallery is much bigger than I expected, and there are a lot of poisonous and non-poisonous snakes residing there. Large glass enclosures give visitors an opportunity to really look closely at a snake in their almost natural environment. Thankfully the pens are not stark cement boxes (or snake pits), but have enough natural habitat décor that the snakes look rather content.
With a history of medical research they also have a lot of dead preserved snakes to look at and snake fun facts to read about. Trust me it isn’t as boring as it may sound. If you have kids who are into reptiles, they will really get a kick out of this place. They may even be inspired to go into a career in medicine or natural sciences!
Although the snakes are the stars of the show, there are plenty of other things to see and do at the Perlis Snake Farm. Flower gardens, a bush maze, petting zoo, mini bird park, plenty of photo ops, and more will keep visitors entertained for at least two hours, so be sure to allot yourself enough time.
They even have a small cat sanctuary on site, for rescues and hopeful adoptees. Unfortunately they don’t have a spay and neuter program in place (so I was told), but I’m sure they do their best to prevent further unwanted births.
But what about those Sunflowers!?
What had initially peaked my interest to come to the Perlis Snake Farm in the first place, were photos of their Sunflower field. I had never seen a field of Sunflowers before and it’s kind of been on my travel bucket list. And of course getting a photo of myself ‘romantically’ standing in a Sunflower field would be even better.
My first visit to the snake farm I found no sunflowers at all. “Not the season”, I was told. Bummer. Story of my life. But since I enjoyed my visit so much, and the staff are all especially nice, that I came back a couple of months later for another shot at a Sunflower selfie. And low and behold, it was sort of the right season. A mini field of sunflowers greeted me on my return visit. Not quite an acre size field I was hoping for but a vision of beauty none the less. Lucky for me, I was able to opt for a photo enhanced souvenir sunflower selfie to help make my dreams come true instead.
Getting to the Perlis Snake and Reptile Farm
The Perlis Snake and Reptile Farm is located 10km from Kangar City, Perlis, and 12km from the Kuala Perlis Jetty (12-22RM GRAB). Do note that it’s easy to get a taxi (or GRAB) to the snake farm, but getting a pick up later is more challenging. If you see no taxis available, put Kangar city in as your destination and maybe you can negotiate with your driver once he gets to you. If not, you will still have a better chance of getting a ride to your final destination from Kangar city rather than the snake farm’s rural area.
The Perlis Snake Farm is really quite interesting and educational for adults as well as kids. Some activities are only available on the weekends, but a quiet mid-week visit is still very worthwhile. And if you’re lucky, the Sunflowers will be in bloom!
For other interesting things to do in Perlis, Malaysia: Weekend Guide to Perlis for First Time Visitors
Perlis Snake and Reptile Farm
(Taman Ular dan Reptilia Negeri Perlis)
Sungai Batu Pahat, Kangar, Perlis
Open: Daily 9:00am until 5:00pm
Tel: 04-976 8511
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