One of the ten largest zoos in the world and the largest zoo in Southeast Asia, Taipei Zoo is a extremely popular attraction for visitors to Taipei (100 NTD, $3.13). I generally don’t go out of my way to visit zoos while traveling but made an exception for this zoo, since it sounded like it was no ordinary zoo and a must see attraction while in Taipai.

The History Of The Taipei Zoo

The current location of the Taipai Zoo (located in the Muzha district in the southern part of Taipei) has been operational since 1986. The zoo itself is over 100 years old dating back to 1914 when Taiwan was still under Japanese sovereignty. This original zoo was located in the Yuan-shan area, in the northern part of Taipei. It covered about 14 acres. In 1973 it was determined that a newer, more modern zoo with ample space was needed in order to grow.

It took 13 years to construct the Taipei Zoo as it stands today (with improvements and expansions also taking place through the present). The current zoo is 407 acres with 222 acres accessible to the public on their visits. This is a massive zoo to visit to say the least.

The Many Displays At Taipei Zoo

It has several terrain themed outdoor displays including a Formosan , Tropical, African, Desert, Australian, Temperate, and Bird World. Indoor exhibits include a Insectarium, Penguin House, Koala House, Amphibian and Reptile House, Giant Panda House, an Education Center, and the impressive Pangolin Dome. These zones are all quite large and house a wide array of different types of animals and species.

The layout of the Taipei Zoo, due to the many acres it lies upon, is quite wide open. It was definitely busy the day I went, but it never felt like it was overly stifling. There was still enough space while walking around as the roads and pathways are pretty wide open with plenty of viewing area space.

You can easily spend the whole day, or at the very least half a day here.

The Panda House

I was looking forward to seeing the Panda House. I couldn’t recall the last time, if ever, seeing a panda in person. The Panda House is obvioulsy one of, if not the most popular attraction at the zoo as one would imagine. You get in a line that moves through the indoor display which has two separate panda exhibits within it (the pandas are separated).

The line is constantly moving so you only have a few opportunites to snap some pics as you move into and out of the exhibit at a pretty quick pace. It’s a smart way to keep people moving since the indoor display would be way too packed with minimal visibility if they didn’t keep the line moving at all times.

The panda themselves are goofy and adorable. One of the pandas was passed out and the other was crusing around their display at the time I went. Very cute without a doubt.

The Pangolin Dome

Built in 2013, the Pangolin Dome is the tropical rainforest area in the Taipei Zoo. It’s a 78-foot dome that houses over 40 animal species and 250 plant species. What makes the dome special is that for a large portion of it, there’s a pathway that spirals throughout it from the bottom floor up to the top. There’s animals and birds moving around freely with a large pool that has several different types of fish and other aquatic species swimming around in.

There’s also a Nocturnal Zone within the dome. This exhibit is enclosed and dark, with only dim red lights illuminating the nocturnal critters housed here. There’s a fat-tailed dwarf lemur, Azara night monkey and pygmy slow loris included in here, which you may or may not see, depending on their mood lol.

The Pandolin Dome is just really cool to walk through with all the animals and trees, and plants. It was definitely my favorite exhibit at the zoo!

Is The Taipei Zoo Worth Visiting?

Without a doubt the Taipei Zoo is one of Taipei’s biggest attractions and is a must visit. It’s one the largest zoos in the world and the exhibits are really nice. The number of animals and species spotted throughout the numerous exhibits was really cool to see. The Pangolin Dome by itself is worth the visit. I’ve never seen anything like it at any zoo I’ve been to. For only 100 NTD for admission, it is well worth visiting!