Sheep in Cameron Highlands? For the first time in many years, visitors can now see sheep up close and personal at The Sheep Sanctuary.
Tickets are not expensive but how does this new attraction compare to the current line-up of existing attractions? Here’s what we think of this place!
How Did This Place Get Started?
The brainchild of a daring entrepreneur who was inspired by sheep farms in Taiwan, The Sheep Sanctuary in Cameron Highlands opened in 2019. Despite its name, it’s not a full-scale sheep farm or a vast field. The property consists of an on-site cafe, a sheep pen, and a small pasture.
Here, visitors are free to pet, feed or take photos with the sheep. There’s no time limit to how long you can stay during your visit.
There are roughly 20 sheep here. The sheep are imported from Australia although a few might have been born here.
PS: They now have alpaca
When Best To Visit This Place
We did not see any new-born lambs when we visited in August. And because there’s no market for sheep wool in Malaysia, the main source of income here is tourism.
When we went, the sheep looked like they were very much due for sheering. Apparently, this is only done once a year. We did see one sheep that already got its haircut.
Tip: Maybe time your visit towards the end August to see them sheer the sheep
It was quite crowded during our visit (11am to 12pm on a Friday) so we suggest going early before the crowd builds up.
Opening Hours: 9am to 5:30pm
However, the queue was gone when we left the place somewhere between 12 to 12:30pm. So maybe you could time your visit during lunch time too if you can’t afford to go on a weekday. Because we cannot imagine how much more packed it would be during a public holiday or weekend!
The whole experience would be a lot more enjoyable with less people – of course, this applies to other attractions in Cameron Highlands too.
Entrance Fees
It currently costs RM12 per adult to enter. You will get one small box of food to feed the sheep. If you need to buy another box of feed, they sell some inside for RM10.
The cost of entry fees for kids below 12 years old is RM7.
PS: If you want to buy more feed for the sheep, the feed can be purchased on-site too.
How Are The Sheep Cared For?
We’re not experts on sheep but their faces and hooves looked clean to us. Some sheep looked overweight but that could be all the wool.
There were many sheep that were simply uninterested in food offered to them. Preferring to doze on the floor of the pens (we went at noon) instead.
Besides the food that visitors give them, the sheep get cut grass to eat too. The evidence is in their feed troughs and at a maintenance corner in the sheep pen.
We hope that they do get let out into the tiny pasture at the end of the day but having seen sheep in New Zealand, it seemed like very little space for the sheep to wonder.
And although the pens are well-ventilated and clean, we did not spot any staff around at the time of our visit.
Where Is This Place?
The sheep farm is at Kea Farm Market. This area sees the heaviest traffic in Cameron Highlands.
So, while you can go around in circles with your cark looking for a vacant car spot, there are 2 paid parking lots that are within walking distance.
The first of these two car parks is right beside Kea Farm Market. An alternative is the new CH Flora car park behind Kea Farm Market. If you want to find it, key in “CH Flora car park” into the Waze app.
This car park operates by an automatic gate with limited payment methods – either via your credit card, debit card, or eWallet. A few hours on a weekday will cost RM8 at this car park. But this car park does have toilets on site.
What Are The Facilities Here?
The ticket counter is right at the front of the entrance. And on busy days, you can see the queue which snakes behind an old hotel building. The souvenir shop is right beside the entrance barrier.
There are steps and a sloped pathway going all the way down to the sheep pen.
On the immediate left of the entrance barrier, there is Puku café (the main entrance to this café is practically next door to the ticket counter).
Personally though, we would not fancy having an ice cream here since the sheep odors do waft up here.
However, we highly recommend the strawberry flavor if you want to try Puku ice cream (there’s another stall at Kea Farm Market).
As for toilets, we did not see any while we were here. We recommend using the toilets over at Cameron Square instead.
And if these count as facilities, there are vending machines at the sheep pen if you want to purchase more feed.
Who Should Visit This Place?
Malaysians in particular, will find this place unique because there are very few places in Malaysia where you can see a live sheep.
Note: Other places in Cameron Highlands have caught on and you can see sheep (though less of them) over at Agro Market too.
Furthermore, you can closely interact with the sheep here since there are they are free roaming. Kids and city folk will no doubt, find a visit here to be eye opening and exciting. The sheep are very docile and tame too. But nevertheless, always be alert.
All this said, if you don’t like animals (or kids running and screaming about), the smell that comes with keeping so many animals in one place, or long queues, it’s best you give this place a miss entirely.
If you are sensitive to signs of animal mistreatment (because this place is far from a sanctuary for sheep), then we would advise excluding this place from your visit too.
Conclusion
The Sheep Sanctuary in Cameron Highlands offers something different for local visitors. For those who don’t have the opportunity to see sheep abroad, it is worth visiting this place.
Agro Market In Cameron Highlands
You can also see sheep at Agro Market Cameron Highlands too. But we think the biggest highlights at this affordable family attraction are their lovely gardens and the big aviary where you can feed birds from your hand!
CH Flora Park
CH Flora Park is not far from The Sheep Sanctuary although you will have to take their shuttle service up. Tickets are pricey but this place is huge, and flower enthusiasts (with reasonably good mobility) will not be disappointed!
