TS DayOut 2016: Paya Indah Wetlands

There’s plenty of family friendly eco-attractions in Selangor, and here’s one that I think you would enjoy if you want to spend time with your family without blowing up your pocket.

Paya Indah Wetlands, located in between of Cyberjaya offers fascinating wonder to all nature lovers around.Paya Indah Wetlands is a man-made wetlands area built in 1998 on land which had been heavily degraded by tin mining and sand dredging activities. The excavations left by the mining works have been converted into lakes which is now a home to exotic creatures and beautiful plants.

 photo 20160918_125627_zps9ihl19vd.jpg

Reaching Paya Indah Wetlands is not that tricky if you use Waze to navigate there. The place is
located about 15 minutes drive southwest of Putrajaya-Cyberjaya.

The main attractions here is of course, the wildlife inhabitants. Divided into a few sections, Paya Indah Wetlands houses animals like hippo, crocodiles and many more in safe enclosure for breeding and documentary purposes.

 photo IMG_7249_zpsb4vddwu5.jpg

Two hippos, originally from Botswana, live in the Hippo Pond enclosure.

 photo FB_IMG_147420853533501_zpseayzqjrz.jpg

The best time to see them is feeding time 10am – 10:30am.

 photo IMG_2658_zpss312hn4e.jpg

They spend most of their time daily being semi-submerged in the lake to prevent their surprisingly sensitive skin from getting sunburnt.

Crocodile Feeding Time at Paya Indah Wetlands

Crococodiles in their lake, during their feeding session.

 photo BeautyPlus_20160919193715_save_zpsyk35vymm.jpg

The crocodiles are fed at 11am – 11:30am on Saturdays and Sundays.

 photo IMG_1518_zps69rum47t.jpg

According to the Jabatan Perhilitan officer, the fierce-looking crocodiles were transported to Paya Indah from Langkawi.

 photo IMG_2576_zpsxt7h1sfw.jpg

If you want to catch a magnificent foresty view, just head over to the Paya Indah Wetlands Observatory Tower. During my previous visit with Tourism Selangor for #TSDayOut2016, the tower provided a 360′ degree view of the whole area and we discovered that there’s much more to Paya Indah Wetlands than just the hippos and crocodiles. There’s horse’s stable where they houses some beautiful horses, a Laman Fauna where there’s porcupines and tortoises, and of course, the place where big and small birds lives.

 photo IMG_2525_zpsutg0kffo.jpg

Stable housing some beautiful, healthy horses

 photo IMG_2519_zpsaibcaqbr.jpg

Horses in Paya Indah Wetlands

 photo IMG_2589_zpstvumaoqv.jpg

Porcupine spotted.

Porcupine making an appearance in Paya Indah Wetlands

Porcupines are mammals with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that protect against predators. They are actually huge and the ones living in Paya Wetlands are almost as big as a dog. The porcupines are nocturnal, and no, they are docile creatures and not dangerous. Contrary to the made up fiction and myths, they can’t shoot their quills at you.

 photo IMG_2592_zps6clxliqz.jpg

Tortoises

Tortoise spotted at Paya Indah Wetlands

Check out the video of the tortoise

 photo IMG_2595_zpsijaftzxb.jpg

It is interesting to note that in Paya Indah Wetlands, the group of tortoises co-habited with the porcupines and heartwarming inter-species interaction between the tortoises and the porcupines can often be seen, where they often share feeding time and takes shelter together.

 photo IMG_2685_zpsme1zjtq0.jpg

Ducks spotted at Paya Indah Wetlands

Ducks swimming at Paya Indah Wetlands

Ducks swimming happily in the lake at Paya Indah Wetlands

 photo IMG_2689_zpsalrkjy9r.jpg

Pelicans

Pelicans Swimming at Paya Indah Wetlands

The great white pelican is also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family and breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and in Africa in swamps and shallow lakes.

 photo IMG_2530_zpsl64fryel.jpg

Apart from the wildlife inhabitants, other interesting thing about Paya Indah Wetlands is that they also provide bicycles for those who would like to cycle in the park.

 photo 20160918_112744_zpsgtx06d4c.jpg

The bicycles can be rented for RM5 for 2 hours. Tricycles are provided for children under 6 years old at RM3 for 2 hours.

 photo 20160918_125418_zpsqjqmxngp.jpg

Other notable facilities is Surau for the Muslims to pray.

 photo 20160918_125408_zps6cfjjwcu.jpg

And not to mention there’s a playground for young children to play too.

The Department of Wildlife & National Parks (Jabatan Perhilitan) has done a good job over the years in regenerating an abandoned mining site into a family friendly eco-tourism attraction . There’s even accommodation offered at Paya Indah Wetlands.

 photo IMG_2610_zpsok9pn391.jpg

If you would like to spend a day or two back to nature in Paya Indah Wetlands, just check in for one of the park’s 29 Chalets. They offer double beds and are air conditioned for RM120 per night. Dormitories and a camp site are also available at RM 9 per person/site/night.

For more information on Paya Indah Wetlands, refer to their official website HERE.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.