Read This Before You Go to Ragunan Zoo!

Hello! It has been five months since my last post, so here you go J

This time I’m going to write –I don’t know if it could be called a review or just a general information– about Ragunan Zoo! Yay!

Some of you who live in Jakarta probably have visited this famous zoo, either with family, friends, or maybe just by yourself? Or maybe you haven’t visited it at all? It’s okay, but where have you been all this time?!

just a picture of us eating right after we entered the gate hehe

This zoo is located in 1 Harsono RM Street, Ragunan, Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta. The location is strategic, it can be easily reached and there are various public transportations to get there. I myself took a bus (Transjakarta) to go to Ragunan Zoo. For you public transportation fans, you can click here to find which bus/train route that you can take to Ragunan Zoo.

For you riders and drivers, don’t need to worry about the parking lot because Ragunan Zoo has a really wide parking lot. If you bring your own vehicle, you only need to pay IDR 6,000 for minibus, or sedan. For you bikers, it’s only IDR 3,000 and you can park your vehicle all day (until 6 PM), and if you’re from another city and use bus (not public transportation), it costs IDR 15,000/day.

This place is the true definition of “murah meriah”. You see animals that you don’t find in daily life or maybe the animals you don’t even know exist, expand your knowledge, refresh your mind because this zoo has lots of small and big trees which produce fresh oxygen and get your eyes spoiled with the beautiful green view around you, especially when you come in early morning, like 6 or 7 AM.

You can do all the things above by just paying IDR 4,000, and IDR 3,000 for kiddos. Don’t forget to bring your JakCard with you! If you don’t have one, you can buy it at the ticket counter, it costs IDR 35,000 with a balance of IDR 20,000. Don’t worry, a card can be used for many persons, so you can use it together with your friends. If you run out of balance, you can do top-ups at the zoo ticket counter also, or at a Transjakarta bus stop. Not only on Ragunan Zoo, you can use your JakCard for Transjakarta, to enter The National Monument and Old Town Museum. Here is the appearance of the JakCard:

source: jestpic.com

About operating hours, no you didn’t misread the “especially when you come in early morning, like 6 or 7 AM”. Ragunan Zoo opens from 6 AM - 4 PM everyday from Tuesday to Sunday. You can enter the zoo at 6 AM via North Gate 2 near Transjakarta bus stop.It’s been a long time since I visited Ragunan Zoo, but then my friends and I decided to visit it on Thursday because we have no class on that day. Beside that, we were avoiding the crowds that usually occur on the weekends.

We did a top-up first when we got there. The counter boy –sorry I don’t know what it’s called– was nice and so polite. We entered the zoo one by one, and the first thing we did after we got in was: eat. After that we went to see apes and monkeys, and some of my friends were attacked by mosquitos, so my tip is: apply mosquito repellent lotion before you enter the zoo.First we visited the storks, the foremost point to visit after you entered the gate. Nothing so special about it, but the area is kind of large and beautiful but it smells, so we couldn’t stay long because of it. Too bad I didn’t take pictures of the storks.

We went to see a honey bear, but instead of getting us stunned, the condition of its house, and the condition of the bear itself made us feel bad for him. He somehow looked weak and sad, we didn’t see the food or drink, and it just sat in the corner and sometimes would lay there. Big part of its house gets direct sunlight and I think that’s why it didn’t move and just stayed in the corner. And what makes it sadder is that it was alone, there is no other honey bear to be company. L

Next we went to see tiger even though it felt hard to leave the bear alone. The tiger in Ragunan Zoo was not very big, and looked a bit skinny, but different from the honey bear, it actively walked around its territory.

If you get tired, you can take a break by sitting on the shady grass field or bring your own mat. Many visitors do this. They roll out their mat and have a little picnic with their family or friends, eating together and have a quality time. You can also rent a bike there. You’ll have to pay IDR 10,000/hour for a regular bike, and IDR 15,000/hour for a tandem bike. Moreover, you can take the minibus to go around the zoo for IDR 10,000/lap. We didn’t rent bikes nor take the minibus because we wanted to save our money enjoy the zoo thoroughly.

If you’re visiting Ragunan Zoo, you cannot miss this. You need to stop by the Schmutzer Primate Center. There are apes, monkeys, and a gorilla. To enter this area, you’ll get charged IDR 6,000 if you’re visiting on Tuesday to Friday, and IDR 7,500 on the weekends or national holidays. Children under 3 years old are free to enter!

The primates are so cute, even though there are some of them that are sooo aggressive. My friends and I terrifiedly ran out of the monkeys’ cage because they were running on the roof which is made of a not-so-thick canopy and made noisy sounds and we were afraid they would break down the canopy and run after us. Here’s one of the aggressive monkeys. What should I name him?

After getting tired walking around the zoo, we called it a day at around 3 PM.

Ragunan Zoo is the right choice when you live in Jakarta want to take a short escape without spending a lot of money and going so far away from home. This place is huge but it won’t bother you so much because you’re distracted by the view and creatures around you. The facility and service are good enough but there are some toilets that don’t work.

I think the management should pay more more more attention to the animals because just like the honey bear, maybe some animals are stressed or sick because most of them just stay still in one place and sometimes we cannot see them. I still see the animal rides on their website but I didn’t see it when I visited, but if it still exists, I don’t agree with that and I think it needs to stop. We should never exploit animals in any way especially if it’s for our own profit. Overall Ragunan Zoo is a smash. I would go back again and again.

That’s all for my review of Ragunan Zoo, sorry if it’s too long I just can’t help it. Cheerio!