Bukit Merah Orang Utan Island Foundation(ブキッ メラ オランウータン島基金)Semanggol [Travel to Malaysia]
☆Recommended Sights☆彡
I went to meet my favorite orangutans!!! There are places outside of zoos in West Malaysia where you can encounter orangutans!!! This is Orangutan Island, located near Taiping. Let’s go to Orangutan Island!!
This is the signboard at the entrance to the boat jetty. This is as far as you can drive by car, so park your vehicle here and take a boat from here to meet the orangutans!
The pier area seems to have a variety of shops, but when we visited, most of them were closed…
We’ll board the boat from here.
This is the pier where you board the boat to get to Orangutan Island.
The blue of the sky is incredibly striking (#^.^#)
As I trudge along under the blazing sun, I can’t help but wonder, “Why on earth do I have to walk such a long distance to get to the boat?”
Ferries depart every 45 minutes starting from 9:00 AM, but the frequency is not very high. If you’re traveling to Taiping like we did, we highly recommend checking the schedule in advance to avoid wasting time.
I’ve included a price list at the bottom of the blog post, but to be honest, I felt it was a bit pricey.
Keep walking straight across that bridge, and you’ll find the ticket center.
Foreigners (adults, children, seniors): RM36 | Malaysians (adults): RM30 | Malaysians (children): RM18 (as of September 2018)
We’ll take this boat over to Orangutan Island. Each vessel can hold about 50 passengers.
It was just the three of us—my husband, his friend from Japan, and me—enjoying the island in total privacy (lol)! (The person in the back is the one in the center.)
We’ll reach the island in about 10 minutes. The breeze feels so refreshing, and I’m absolutely buzzing with excitement at the thought of meeting the orangutans soon! (≧◇≦)
This is the boat landing on Orangutan Island!
We’ve arrived!
It takes about 10 minutes from the pier to reach Orangutan Island.
Finally, we’re going to meet the orangutans!!!
I’m so excited and can’t wait to see them (≧▽≦)
A fascinating setup: humans in cages watching orangutans. Wait—are the humans the ones being watched?!
As for the orangutan explanation, I had absolutely no idea what it meant in Malay (;^ω^)
Wow! There they are! I finally got to see orangutans―(≧◇≦) These orangutans are quite a bit older.
When we visited, there were hardly any tourists, so we were lucky enough to be allowed into a restricted area normally off-limits to the public—getting us much closer to the orangutans! What a stroke of luck ☆彡 That kind of relaxed atmosphere is one of the great charms of Malaysia (≧◇≦)
So I was able to get as close as about 30 cm through the fence. Orangutan eyes are so round and cute! Their fingers are similar to humans, but they have one extra joint, making them longer than human fingers.
The zookeeper threw an apple, and the orangutan was trying so hard to grab it using a stick. In the end, it succeeded! Orangutans are really smart.
The males were a bit intimidating as they’d occasionally bare their teeth, but the females and young orangutans were truly adorable, with bright, expressive faces.
Some even passed plant branches to us, and the young orangutan skillfully used those branches to grab food.
Website: https://www.orangutanisland.org.my/Orangutan%20(home).html
Facebook: Facebook
Name: Bukit Merah Orang Utan Island (ブキッ・メラ オランウータン島) Foundation Semanggol
Phone Number: +6019-578 3015
Address: Yayasan Pulau Orang Utan Bukit Merah, Jalan Bukit Merah, 34400 Simpang Empat Semanggol, Perak
35 minutes by car from Taiping
Opening hours: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily (Please verify before you head out)
Parking: In front of the Jetty (The surrounding area has a resort-like atmosphere)
Nearby Attractions: Trong Leisure [Duck] Farm
