Visiting Khon Kaen Zoo & Water Paradise in Khao Suan Kwang

Visiting Khon Kaen Zoo & Water Paradise in Khao Suan Kwang
It is located on a small mountain, about 40 km north of Khon Kaen city at the border of Khon Kaen province and Udon Thani province. Originally it was called "Khao Suan Open Zoo" but it has been renamed and is targeted to become a provincial tourist attraction.

Let start with the fact that I do not like ZOO's. For me it are prisons for animals, sentenced to life in prison for our fun. But well there are some acceptable ZOO's. Well let me tell you this from the start .... as ZOO this place is not worth visiting.


How does it all work? Well at the entrance gate you pay 100 Thai baht entrance fee per adult. Non-Thai tourists have the privilege to pay 150 Thai baht. This entrance fee includes the ZOO and Water Paradise. At the HQ of the ZOO you can take a electric tram for 20 Thai baht pp. At the tram a Thai guides explains what you see (or actually what you not see). The voice (via speaker) is very loud, they assume we are all deaf. I did not enjoy this. You can also go by electric golf car yourself (4 people). They also have bicycles for rent, but there are some hills in the track. You can get off the electric tram at places of interest  and later take the next one. We did see some bears, a sleeping tiger & lion, 1 sleeping meerkat, a lot of dears and some horses. And a lot of birds. The latter was I think the only thing that was really nice to see. A huge cage for birds, chicken and other small flying animals. They did seem to have a good life there. All other animals were just jailed for our fun.

Maintenance and taking care of animals and the park was at a low level. While at the same moment a huge and beautiful entrance was build. O and of course there are many shops to buy drinks & souvenirs. So we left the ZOO and went to "Water Paradise" what is 2 km further on the mountain. Actually at the top of it. If you are not prepared for swimming ... don't worry everything is for rent here. Flip-flops, lockers, swim wear, caps, etc. And of course you can eat & drink here. At first it did look very nice, with a nice view. But taking a closer look at the water quality I am not sure if swimming there is a good idea.

Dancing bears
I want food!

Water Paradise on top of the mountain


🌍 Kham Muang, Khao Suan Kwang District, Khon Kaen, Thailand

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