Songkhla Zoo

Songkhla Zoo is a government-run zoo on Khao Rup Chang hill on the edge of Songkhla city, holding roughly 160 species of captive animals across about 145 hectares of hillside grounds. It opened in 1989 and is one of the relatively small number of Thai zoos that belong to the Zoological Park Organization, the state body that runs the country’s main zoos. Entry costs 350 THB for a foreign adult (120 THB for a child) and 130 THB for a Thai adult (40 THB for a child aged 3-12) — under-3s, monks, veterans, people with disabilities, and visitors over 60 enter free. The zoo is open daily 08:30-17:30.

A paved ring road climbs through part of the hillside, and visitors can drive their own vehicle along it past open enclosures holding tigers, bantengs, crocodiles and camels, with a separate walk-through hornbill enclosure offering closer views on foot. Vehicle access carries its own small fee — roughly 50-60 THB for a car, 10 THB for a motorbike — on top of the entry ticket. Walking paths elsewhere in the zoo lead past more conventional enclosures for primates and other species, laid out across the sloped terrain rather than on flat ground.

The zoo’s main draw beyond the animals themselves is the hilltop viewpoint near the top of the grounds, ringed with food stalls and looking out over Songkhla city and the coastline. A water play area also operates on site under a combined-ticket arrangement with the main zoo, though the exact scope of what’s included has shifted over past seasons — worth confirming at the ticket gate rather than assuming.

Insider Tip: Do the hillside animal enclosures first thing in the morning — many species are more active before the heat sets in, and the drive-through road gets busier with day-trip traffic by midday.

Watch out: This is a working zoo with animals in enclosures, not a rescue sanctuary — if open-range zoo displays aren’t something you’re comfortable with, the viewpoint and grounds are still worth a stop without the animal areas.

The zoo sits on Songkhla-Na Thawi Road on the city’s southern edge; parking is available on-site. For the wider area, see the Songkhla hub — Khao Tang Kuan, another hillside viewpoint in Songkhla town, makes a reasonable pairing if you want a second high point over the city on the same trip.