Paradise Park Farm, Koh Samui, Thailand

...One of these attractions was Paradise Park Farm.

About Paradise Park Farm
Paradise Farm Farm is located at the top of Khao Pom mountain and is set within tropical rainforest which makes for a lovely setting for this unique park. The park covers 20 acres and inside there are walking trails, picnic / resting areas, an infinity swimming pool, a restaurant, a souvenir shop and many different animals to see.
Visitors to this ...
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Opening Times
Paradise Park Farm is open daily from 9am until 6pm. Shuttle buses are available and these can be booked from Paradise Park Farm, to your hotel. However, as we hired the Jeep, we decided to drive ourselves there using a road map, which was very easy.

Price
Entrance fees for Paradise Farm are 300 Baht for adults and 100 baht for children over the age of four. Children under the age of for get in ... more

Myself and my boyfriend went to Thailand in October 2007, where we spent three nights in Bangkok and then a further 9 nights in Ko Samui. While we were in Ko Samui, we decided to hire out a Jeep so we were free to visit all the attractions we wanted to. One of these attractions was Paradise Park Farm.

About Paradise Park Farm
Paradise Farm Farm is located at the top of Khao Pom mountain and is set within tropical rainforest which makes for a lovely setting for this unique park. The park covers 20 acres and inside there are walking trails, picnic / resting areas, an infinity swimming pool, a restaurant, a souvenir shop and many different animals to see.
Visitors to this attraction can take advantage of a guided tour round the park which is offered for free. However, we decided we would prefer to explore the park by ourselves.
The animals which can be seen here have very natural surroundings due to the fact that much of the park is unspoilt and many of the animals have large enclosures and are allowed out during the day to say 'hello to the visitors.

Opening Times
Paradise Park Farm is open daily from 9am until 6pm. Shuttle buses are available and these can be booked from Paradise Park Farm, to your hotel. However, as we hired the Jeep, we decided to drive ourselves there using a road map, which was very easy.

Price
Entrance fees for Paradise Farm are 300 Baht for adults and 100 baht for children over the age of four. Children under the age of for get in for free. In English pounds, an adult would pay roughly £4.70 to get in, and a child over four would be charged £1.55. We found the prices to be very reasonable considering you can spend nearly all day exploring the park.

Inside The Park
Inside Paradise Park Farm, there are many things to see and do which I will outline here.

The Animals
The animals which can be seen here are housed in various zones throughout the park with each of the zones being signposted. Upon entering the park and after paying, guests are provided with a map of the park which is very easy to understand and certainly helps you decide what you are doing to see and do next.
The animals here range from exotic birds, to kangaroos and ostriches so there is something to suit everyones tastes.
Visitors to this attraction can openly interact with some of the animals such as the monkeys, the birds and the ostriches and deer's. One of my personal favourite animals was the monkey who is just inside the entrance. He sits on top of a large branch and although he is chained by his foot, he has a large area in which he can play. Visitors can stroke him and are free to interact with him which I really enjoyed. He kept holding out his hands for me to take hold of and when I did he was swinging round on me and using me as a climbing frame which was really good fun (for him and me). A little tip though, just be aware that you are basically playing with a wild animals as my boyfriend found out when he went to play with him. Although we think he was playing, he managed to chew on my boyfriends leg so if you have young children or are not very comfortable around animals then I wouldnt volunteer yourself to play with him.
Another area I enjoyed was feeding the deer. Just before you reach the deer section, there is a small kiosk which sells fresh bananas. It costs you 30p for a large bunch which you can then take to feed the deer. Another little tip though, be aware of the Ostriches who also apparently like bananas!! I was halfway through hand feeding a deer some banana when an ostrich appeared behind me and decided he wanted to banana too.
The other two sections which stood out for me, was the Painted Dove aviary and the inside aviary. The Painted Dove aviary had a large open aviary where the birds are actually free to leave the park if they wish to, although they all choose to stay here and breed. You can walk inside the aviary and view the nesting boxes. We did this and saw that many of the Doves had young and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the parents feeding the babies.
The inside aviary, although in my opinion small was still very enjoyable. Many of the birds are kept in cages but there is a keeper inside the aviary who will get a bird out of their cage if you wish to hold it. There is an African Grey parrot and a Cockatoo which sit on perches on top of their cage, and visitors can hold the birds and have their photos taken. Other birds included Mynah Birds, Budgies, Cocktails, Love birds and Parakeets. There are also two Macaw Parrots here who can speak both English and Thai.

The Walks
There are two trail walks inside the park which are the River Walk and The Scenic Walk. The trails are signposted and there are details of how long each walk takes. We decided to go on the river walk which took 45 minutes. To be honest, there wasnt any wildlife to see on these trails, at least not on the trail we took but it was still an enjoyable experience.
The River Walk consisted of lots of steep steps which lead down to the rive so I must point out that this walk would not be suitable for anyone in a wheelchair. One you reach the River, the trail takes on a whole new meaning as it then leads directly through the middle of the River where you are to climb over rocks and up steep hills to finish the trail. I would only advise people in good health to take this trail because we found it hard work and we are young, fit, healthy and used to walking. The temperatures get hot in Thailand and this is something you need to be aware of before you decide to take the trail.
There are several man made waterfalls which can be seen on these trails.

The Infinity Pool
What can I say? This really is a beautiful setting and really makes the park stand out from other attractions we visited. The swimming pool was beautiful and from here, you can get unspoilt views across the whole of Ko Samui. Paradise Park Farm is located at the top of a mountain so obviously you need the weather to be clear to get views of the park. Unfortunately, on the day we visited it was quite cloudy so it wasnt until later in the day when the weather cleared that we could appreciate just how stunning the views from here are.
As I already mentioned, the trails can be hard work and its lovely to relax in the swimming pool afterwards and to cool down. There is a small bar near the swimming pool where you can buy alcoholic and soft drinks, all at reasonable prices i.e.: 60p for a coke, £1.50 for a beer. There are also plenty of sun loungers near the pool where you can take time out from exploring the park.
There are showers and toilets provided near the pool where you can freshen up after a dip in the pool.
There are tents set up near the swimming pool which can be hired out for the night for only 300 baht per person which is around £3.70.

The Restaurant
The restaurant is located just above the swimming pool and again, from here you can get some amazing views across Ko Samui. The restaurant is built into the natural landscape so if you sit over the far side of the restaurant, you are almost overhanging the park where nothing gets in the way of your view. This is a great place to take some photographs.
The food served here includes traditional Thai dishes as well as European dishes. We didnt eat here so I am unable to comment on the food, although we looked at the menu and noticed that the prices were reasonable, for example, omelette and chips was only £1.50.
When we arrived at the restaurant to have a drink, we were given freezing cold flannels from the bar staff which was a lovely touch seeing as we were boiling hot by this point.

In Summary
I would certainly recommend a trip to Paradise Park Farm and feel that this sort of attraction would appeal to a wide variety of people, including couples and also families. I like the fact that you can interact with the animals and also the fact that they have spacious and natural enclosures. All the animals look happy and healthy which always makes me happy.
This attraction is easy to get to, cheap to get in and lots to see and do while you are there. Ten out of ten from me!! 

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