Why would anyone want to visit Perak Botanic Gardens (or Taman Botani Perak) when there is another better-known alternative in Taiping?
Is there something about this park that makes it unique?
If you’ve always been curious about this place, this post is for you!
What Is At Perak Botanic Gardens?
After passing though the gate, you are greeted by a courtyard of sorts. You can see that there’s another similar one ahead.
Paths lead down to the lake at the left side of the park and also to quiet green space that looks ideal for a private picnic.
From our observation, the overall landscaping of Perak Botanic Gardens is less decorative than at Taiping Lake Gardens.
Yes, the staff regularly clear the paths from leaves and cut down excess growth. You can hear them blowing the leaves away in the morning.
Most of the plants in this park appear to be native. And as you go deeper into the park (particularly section 3), it feels like you’re walking in the jungle (except for the wide tarmac road that runs through it).
This experience is something you can’t get at the tamer Taiping Lake Gardens.
We didn’t see any mammals but saw a lot of large insects like praying mantis, and jungle sized millipedes crossing the road.
Anyone with a keen interest in botany might really enjoy a walk-through Section 3 of the Perak Botanic Gardens. Bringing along binoculars might be a good idea if you want to bird-watch.
But as casual visitors, we felt that the park was not very interesting.
The lake is pretty on a sunny day, but we think that the view is not as impressive as with Taiping Lake Gardens.
Location
The Perak Botanic Gardens are between the base of Bukit Larut (Maxwell Hill) and Taiping Lake Gardens.
It is a one-way road into the car park and out of it.
There is another car park across the park, but it is probably empty most of the time except for the resident monkeys.
Entrance Fees
It costs RM2 per person to enter the Perak Botanic Gardens. You don’t have to pay for parking at least.
But this ticket doesn’t come with anything else, just the access to the park and its facilities.
Facilities
The only facilities we saw at Perak Botanic Gardens (apart from the visitor car park) were the toilets and perhaps a small prayer room.
There are no wheelchair ramps although the pathways are mostly of tarmac and pot-hole free.
You won’t find a kid’s playground or outdoor gym apparatus here. We didn’t see any benches either.
Conclusion
Until the authorities allow people to cycle here, or arrange some educational nature walks and tours, we don’t think it’s worth visiting the Perak Botanic Gardens.
A small onsite café at the first section of the park might attract more visitors too.
The park is well maintained but the fact that entrance fees are charged (even if it’s less than a cup of coffee) is a deterrent to many visitors.
Taiping Lake Gardens is much larger and, in our opinion, more attractive with its multiple facilities like a boat dock and playground.
