Comprised of 20 enclosed acres, KL Bird Park is home to 3,000 birds representing 200 colorful species, and quite unlike anywhere else on the planet.
But is it worth it? Should you visit? Here’s our trip report and our personal take on those questions, plus helpful tips if you do plan to visit.
2024 Update
We originally visited KL Bird Park in April of 2018. Since then, a bit has changed, it seems.
When we visited, the park was clean and tidy and the birds appeared healthy for the most part. Of course, Lori and I aren’t Ornithologists or anything. That’s just our personal opinion.
At that time, most of the birds we saw were permitted to roam freely within their respective “Zones”.
However, recent reviews indicate that this may no longer be the cases. Or at least, that many more birds are now housed in cages than before. We’re not able to independently verify if this is true or not. We’re just reporting what we’ve read.
Something else to consider is the price of admission.
KL Bird Park has never been cheap, but here in late 2024 the costs are: RM 85 (~US$20) for one adult foreigner (RM 45 for adults with a Mykad (Malaysian ID card), and RM 60 for foreign children ages 3 to 11 (RM 20 with Mykad).
Hot Tip The park frequently runs promotions on their website, so be sure to check there first before purchasing tickets.
If you’re traveling on a budget, the cost of admission might be enough to tip the scales one way or another.
With all that in mind, we recommend reading the rest of this post, perusing some of the more recent online reviews, then deciding for yourself if KL Bird Park sounds like a good option for you.
KL Bird Park Basics
I did all the research and planning for Borneo while Lori took care of our time in Kuala Lumpur. We hadn’t had an opportunity to talk much about our days in KL before arriving, so I really didn’t know what to expect. Let’s just say I was quite surprised.
Opened in 1991, KL Bird Park is an impressive undertaking of an aviary, right in the heart of the Kuala Lumpur. Seriously, what city of this size and stature these days is able to devote over 20 acres of prime real estate in the city center to a giant aviary?
But that’s not all, KL Bird Park is but a small section of the massive Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens, an additional 130 acres of public gardens.
Established in 1888, the Lake Gardens also house a butterfly park, deer park, botanical gardens, and the former house of parliament.
Tickets can be purchased at the door, but we recommend booking online via their website.
Our KL Bird Park Experience
We arrived on a Sunday morning just after opening and were the only visitors. Right off the bat, we were greeted by this guy:
There were even a dozen or so owls chillin’ on their stoops snoozin’ or creepily eyeing visitors.
Bird Feedings
One of the highlights of our visit was encountering hundreds of White Storks along the main path. It’s always an eerie feeling to be walking counter to an entire herd…or flock, in this case. Where y’all headed?
As the large, gangly birds walked hurriedly together up the hill we began to wonder if it was some sort of signal of an impending natural calamity—canary-in-a-coalmine-style.
Taking a cue from the storks, we turned around and began to follow the flock ourselves. Until it became quite clear what was going on: Feeding time.
KL Bird Park has a number of feedings throughout the day in the various zones (there’s a schedule posted online and at the park).
The free-flying bird feeding (starting at 10:30am) is said to be one of the best times to visit, and it’s easy to see why. The birds are active and visible and care more about getting fed than running away from you, or hiding in the heat of the day.
Kuala Lumpur Weather
Which brings me to another fun fact about Kuala Lumpur: It can get very hot here!
Much of the year KL’s weather can be quite hot and steamy with dramatic thunderstorms that move in and out with a fury, followed by the sun shining and things getting hot and steamy. Rinse and repeat.
If you visit, plan accordingly. It pays to keep an eye on the weather forecast. If you have to visit during a time when rain is in the forecast, bring panchos and a healthy dose of patience.
We also recommend packing water or electrolytes for when the sun comes out. Ample sunscreen and a sun hat is also a good idea. KL Bird Park is a big place and you’ll be covering a lot of ground.
Another reason to bring a hat? There are birds everywhere!
I don’t think I’ve had so much fun with birds. Of course, with any flock of birds, there’s always the danger of getting severely crapped on, and KL Bird Park at feeding time is no exception.
A small price to pay for a rare and close encounter with a hundred of my vapid and goofy-looking feathered friends.
With that said, a hat wouldn’t have been a bad idea. Noe had the right idea.
Exploring Zone 2
There are four distinct zones at KL Bird Park with the aim of keeping certain types of birds apart for safety reasons.
Zone 1 is where the entrance is and is made to resemble a tropical rainforest.
Zone 2, on the other hand, is built for birds that live mostly around streams.
Crossing a bridge into Zone 2, we came upon a peacock.
Try as we might, we apparently were not attractive enough for the bird to whoo us with his full display of plumage.
Whatever. I don’t need to be validated by some stinkin’ peafowl.
Most of the park is covered in acres and acres of netting, held in place by high steel towers.
Later in our visit, we also explored a flightless bird area that was not covered for obvious reasons.
The netting is not quite dense enough to offer any real protection from the intense equatorial sun, so we recommend going early and putting on lots of sun protection. Only about a third of the park has shade cover.
Birds aren’t the only inhabitants of the park, we discovered.
A short while later, we find our way to the stream, and discover where most of the birds in Zone 2 have been hiding all this time.
Lots of rest (and hydration) breaks today.
This Scarlett Ibis had a few too many red M&Ms, it seems.
In Uganda, these are called Crested Cranes and are the national symbol of that country. Here in Malaysia, they are simply known as grey crowned cranes.
90% of birds at KL Bird Park are native to Malaysia. However, these guys are generally not considered native to Asia, so they’re representatives of that non-native minority of residents.
Most of the park looked pretty clean, except for the pink flamingo pond, which was a very green shade of green. When we’ve seen pink flamingos in the wild, the water typically has a reddish-muddy look to it. Not sure if the color here is on purpose or due to lack of maintenance.
Feeding Velociraptors in Zone 4
Another highlight of our morning was feeding this guy.
There was a small out-building with a sign welcoming visitors to take some lettuce and to hand feed the resident emus and ostrich. What fun! Right?
The thing was vicious. I was fairly convinced it was half velociraptor.
After nearly losing her hand to the crazed beast, once was apparently not enough. Lori and Noe repeated their encounter over and over and over.
I guess we assumed the bird would have his fill of lettuce at some point, but no.
Fortunately for Noe, the beasts tastes were simple, and he didn’t seem interested in baby at all, which made me rethink the velociraptor thing altogether. I mean, Noe would have been toast by now, right?
World of Parrots Exhibit
At one point, we came across this guy, smoking a tiny bird cigar. Not sure animal activists would approve of this behavior.
We also encountered this very skeptical-looking Red Lory.
There was also a Chattering Lory, and I could take this opportunity to make some sort of joke regarding my better-half, but I won’t…Lori…
You were supposed to be able to hold this beautiful Rainbow Lorikeet, but every time I put my finger out, he side-stepped it.
We played this game for a while until I realized I was engaged in an utterly pointless game of chicken with a parrot.
Noe, however, enjoyed pointing and laughing, which couldn’t have been good for the poor little bird’s self-image, but made Noe feel better. Bully.
And now, we’ve saved the best for last…or at least the most bizarre.
Here, I present to you the pride of KL Bird Park and the namesake of many of its facilities: the Great Hornbill.
Should You Visit KL Bird Park?
In the years since our visit, the park has received its fair share of both accolades and controversy.
KL Bird Park bills itself as an eco-tourism destination, largely citing its enormous size and free-flight concept.
When we visited, we knew it wasn’t going to be the same as seeing these beautiful birds in the wild. But then again, to be able to catch a glimpse of many of these birds in their natural habitat would be well out of our budget and require a whole lot of luck to boot. Not to mention that some of these birds are next to impossible to spot in the wild.
The birds seemed much better cared for than we’ve seen at any zoo. Not being fans of zoos ourselves, that made us feel better about the experience and the money spent.
Finally, the fact that we were traveling with a young child made this all the more a must-see destination for us. We knew he would love it and that it would probably be one of the more enriching animal encounters that we could have in a major city in Southeast Asia (we’ve had more than our share of disappointments in that area in our four years living in the region).
Still, it’s hard to ignore some of the more recent reviews on the web. There appears to have been a decline in quality of the experience particularly surrounding the cleanliness of the facilities and the appearance of the birds, as well as an increase in the number of birds housed in cages.
As we said earlier, that’s purely based on a dozen or so online reviews. We haven’t had an opportunity to visit KL Bird Park since 2018, which means we haven’t been able to verify any of that for ourselves.
Also, for many the cost of admission is going to be prohibitively expensive. There are a number of worthwhile activities one could do in KL for much cheaper. Even with discounts, if you’re planning to visit with a large family, costs can mount quickly.
We realize this experience isn’t for everyone. But if you choose to visit, please let us know how it went in the comments below (include the month and year of your visit). We’d love to hear directly from fellow travelers regarding the current state of things.
More Reading for Your Malaysia Trip
Around Malaysia
Penang Island
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- Penang Hill: Guide to George Town’s Great Escape
- Batu Ferringhi Beach: Why Visit + What to Expect
- Penang Street Art: George Town’s Colorful Side
- Visiting the Clan Jetties of Penang
- Visiting George Town, Penang: A First-Hand Guide
- Tropical Spice Garden & Tanjung Bungah on Penang
- Entopia by Penang Butterfly Farm: A First-Hand Guide
Borneo (Sabah)
Nice place to go with family
When I was travelling overseas fom Australia I often stopped in K/L. I love it there.
I nearly always visited the bird park to unwind/chill out from the pressures of running a business. It is a beautiful spot to cruise for an hour or so.
Always loved the talking Myrna bird (I think) at the entrance. I dont know if he is still there.
Nice post about the KL bird park. Seems you had a much better experience than I did, since it rained when I was there. The red ibis in one of your photos is called the scarlet ibis and is the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago, a country in the Caribbean where I’m from. Whenever I see it in Asia, like at this park, I find it interesting and amusing.