Taipei Zoo (臺北市立動物園) - Maokong Gondola (貓空纜車) [Taiwan Day 637: Zoovengers - May 30, 2015]

What lies at the south of Taipei? If the city's northern part has the Yangmingshan mountains, the east has Nangang, and the west has Dadaocheng then it's definitely the Maokong mountains. A visit to Taipei Zoo and a fun ride at the Maokong Gondola will be the top itinerary if you visit this part of Taipei. Taipei Zoo is too big that in my past two visits I'm still not able to see all its animals especially the pandas. A revisit to Taipei Zoo and a cable car ride completed my Month-Long Birthday Celebration. But did I succeed in seeing all the animals there? Let's find out.

 I brought along Ciara, Bryan and Francis. They have been my Travel Buddies since my first travel adventure in May and they were too excited for this trip. Taipei Zoo ranks no. 10 in the places to see in Taipei according to TripAdvisor and as part of their “Fast-Track Travel Program” they have to see this place. Going to Taipei Zoo is so convenient. The Taipei Zoo MRT station is accessible via the Wenhu Line of the Taipei Metro. It will only take you around 30 minutes from Taipei Main Station to reach the place and a 5-minute walk from the MRT Station starts your adventure. How about the tickets? Ordinary tickets cost NTD 60 (PHP 87) while for students it's only NTD 30 (PHP 44).

Of all the animals that I will never forget were the pandas. It was my first time to see such cute black and white animals. I saw two pandas. One was just playing around while the other one was sitting and eating bamboo. They were too adorable but I reminded myself that these pandas came from China. lol. The mainland's panda diplomacy is working in Taiwan. People are getting crazy about these animals. It's a pandamonium! The 10-minute encounter with the pandas was an experience that I will never forget in Taiwan.

The Malayan tapir surprised us. It was too big that I estimated that it's as large as a pig or it may be even bigger. I didn't imagine that such animal exists. Their home was inside the Rainforest area and I love that place. I felt that I was really inside a forest. Elephants can also be found in Taipei Zoo and we saw four. I asked my Travel Buddies if the elephants in Taipei Zoo have the same cage as the elephant in Manila Zoo. They replied that the elephant's home in Taipei Zoo is bigger and the place is more natural because Taipei Zoo is located in the mountains.

Ciara showed her skills in bird spotting at the Aviary and she was really good. The otter, beaver, leopard and even the gorillas were sleeping on the ground due to the high temperature on that day while people gathered at the newly-renovated Penguin House. It was too hot outside. Even the brown bear hid much to the disappointment of the visitors. Lemurs got crazy when a worker went inside their cage and fed them. It was fun to watch them as one black and white lemur climbed over the worker's back. Am I watching a Madagascar movie?

Taipei Zoo closed at 5pm and we were not able to see all the animals. The zoo's open public space is 90 hectares and it's too big for a one-day trip. We just had a fun cable car ride at the Maokong Gondola after the zoo trip. It lifted like us like a magic carpet taking us above the Maokong mountains. We took the crystal cabin and as we fly I saw Taipei Zoo below. Justice will be served when I visit Taipei Zoo again. Justice that can only be delivered by the Zoovengers.

Sakura Series - Taiwan

2026 Forecast

Taipei 101 first flowers

Tianyuan Palace backyard

Taipei Flower Test Center

Pingjing St. Lane 42

Broadwood Park

Sunshine Sports Park kawazu sakura

Wuling Farm (武陵農場)

SYS kawazu sakura

Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village

CKS Memorial Hall

Shibafen Yoshino Sakura

Hope River

Dongfang Temple

Tianyuan Palace

Neicou Stream Trail

Orange Garden Cafe

Yangming Park Visitor Information Center

Yangming Park Service Center Bus Stop

Huashan Road

Qianshan Park

Zhongshan Hall Entrance

Tenglong Sakura Farm

Flower Test Center Shōwa Sakura

Neihu Creek Trail

Shulin Land Office

Xióng Kōng Cherry Blossom Forest

Lung Yen Sakura Forest

Yangming Park cherry stream

Yangming Park fountain

CKS Memorial Hall Tairyō sakura

Wugu District Tianyi Road

CKS Memorial Hall yaesakura

Loving Farm

Yong Long Farm

Zhongbaling Sakura Road

Sun Link Sea

Tai'an Police Station

Cherry Hill Slope

Hsinchu Park

Taipei 101

Kāng Gào Kēng Creek

New Garden City

Broadwood Park

Tianyuan Palace backyard

Pingjing St. Lane 42

Alishan Ranger Station

Alishan House

Alishan Police Station

Alishan Forest Railway

Alishan Station

Alishan Entrance

Alishan Gou Hotel

Alishan Magnolia Garden

Wulai tour

Wun Chang Elementary School

Bishanyan

Sanzhi Sansheng Trail

Sakura Series - Taiwan

Nei Cuo Stream

Orange Garden Cafe

Sansheng Trail

Tenglong Sakura Farm

Yangming Park Cherry Stream

Yangming Park Fountain

Flower Test Center

Broadwood Park

New Garden City

Yinghua Park

Pingjing St. Lane 42

Yangmingshan Visitor Center

Taipei 101

Tianyuan Palace backyard

Sakura Series - Japan

Kamonyama Park

Near the Nippon Maru Memorial Park

Shinko Park

Minato-mirai 21 area

Tokyo Tech Suzukakedai Campus

Onda River

Tenryuji

Byodoin

Kiyomizudera

Himuro shrine and Yakushi-ji Temple

Hōryū-ji Temple

Nara Park attractions

Tokyo Tech Ookayama Campus

Sumida River

Tsuruma Park

Gion

Maple Series

Taipei Aowanda

Shimen Dam

Alishan

Aowanda

Shanlinxi

Taoyuan Valley Garden

Fushoushan Farm

Yehliu to Jiufen? Yehliu to Shifen? Cheaper than yellow taxis

The "Taipei kong mahal" (My beloved Taipei)

Always in my heart

MRT birdman

Valentine's Day

Tulips Festival

2018 Taipei Lantern Festival

City of Azaleas

Linji Huguo Temple

Nanjichang Night Market

Gudetama Chef restaurant

Dalongdong Bao'an Temple

Shilin hollyhocks

Ningxia Night Market

Ximending graffiti

Discovery Center of Taipei

Chunghwa Postal Museum

Double-Decker Bus

Shilin Cold Balls

Jingimoo

GomanMango

mud volcanic ice

Fire and Ice Dumpling

Opium Fen-Yuan

Ichiran Ramen

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles

hydrangea flowers

National Palace Museum

Other attractions in Taipei

Taipei on a budget

Japanese buildings

Dāoxiāomiàn beef noodles

Presidential Office Building

Yongkang St. and Elephant Mountain

CKS and SYS Hall

City tour

Beitou ramen

MRT Monopoly Game

Winter city tour

Zhicheng Park

Shilin Plum Blossom

Art museums

Shopping in Taipei

Summer desserts

Qingtiangang

Qixingshan hiking

2015 Calla lily

2016 Calla lily

Beitou tour

Beitou-Zhuzihu tour

NTU

Confucius Temple

2015 Dadaocheng Festival

Puppet Museum

Fantasy Ice World

2016 Bread Show

Strawberry picking

2015 Rose Garden

Modern Toilet

Shilin Night Market

NASA Exhibit

Raohe Night Market

Longshan Temple

2013 Taipei Zoo

Maokong Gondola

Lupin flowers

Taipei 101 day visit

Taipei 101 night visit

Tiger Mountain

Din Tai Fung

Taipei Story House

2014 Flower Show

Chrysanthemum Show

Miramar Ferris wheel

Miniatures Museum

Archery

1600 Pandas

Wulaoguo hot pot

Upside Down House

2016 101 Fireworks

New Taipei

Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival

Elephant Rock SUP/kayaking

Meteor Garden school

Tamsui Pumpkin Tunnel

Shifen Waterfall

2017 Sand Sculpture

Dragon Caves

New Taipei tour

2016 Kite Festival

Pingxi Crags

Bitou Cape

2016 Sand Sculpture

2015 Christmasland

Juming - Jinshan

Houtong - Pingxi

Sandiaoling Waterfall

Jiufen foodtrip

Guanyinshan hike

Yehliu Ocean World

2014 Kite Festival

Pingxi Rail tour

Jinguashi tour

Vigor Kobo Pineapple

British Consulate

Yehliu Geopark

2014 Sand Sculpture

Paragliding

2014 Christmasland

2014 Pingxi Lantern

firefly watching

Yingge Ceramics Street

Jiufen tour