Penang Butterfly Farm, Teluk Bahang

Butterflies at the farm (2 December 2007).


The Penang Butterfly Farm, opened to the public in 1986, was one of the first tropical butterfly farms in the world. It is located on a 0.8 hectare site near the foot of the Teluk Bahang hills, between the Taman Rimba Teluk Bahang and the Teluk Bahang village. The owner and founder is David Goh, who was inspired to start the farm by another butterfly farm owner, Clive Farrell of Stratford-upon-Avon in England.

The farm was intended to be more than just a tourist attraction. It introduced and created an interest in entomology - the study of insects - to the Malaysian public. For the first time, Malaysians from children to adults could experience the pleasure of watching over a thousand butterflies from 120 different species fluttering in an enclosure. They include the famous Rajah Brooke (Trogonoptera brookiana), the beautiful black butterfly with florescent green patches called birdwing. This butterfly comes from Borneo and West Malaysia, and was named after James, the Rajah of Sarawak, by naturalist Alfred Wallace, the founder of the Sarawak Museum, in 1855. Other butterflies found here include the endangered Yellow Bird wing (Troides helena).

Updates

26 February, 2015: The Penang Butterfly Farm advises that the farm will be closed to the public for a major development beginning 7 March, 2015, and is planned to reopen in early 2016.

Penang Butterfly Farm on Google Maps Street View

Butterflies at the farm (2 December 2007).


Although to the general public, the butterfly farm is just another of Penang's many tourist attractions, the farm itself has gained an international reputation within the industry as a butterfly breeding centre. Rather than depleting the butterfly population in the wild, the farm has been active in breeding butterflies in captivity. This helps to increase the number of butterflies which are endangered species. It also increases awareness of conservation issues pertaining to the rain forest and butterfly habitats.

Contact

Penang Butterfly Farm
830, Jalan Teluk Bahang
11050 Penang
Tel: 60-4-8851253
Email: info@butterfly-insect.com
Website: https://www.butterfly-insect.com

Manmade waterfall at the Penang Butterfly Farm (15 July 2006)

Opening Hours

The Penang Butterfly Farm informs that it is closed for a major development from 7 March, 2015, and is planned to reopen in early 2016.

Daily: 9:00am-6.00pm (last entry 5:00pm)
(Including weekends and public holidays)
Open half day on Chinese New Year Eve

Admission (as of 1 Jan 2011):
Adults: RM27
Children: RM15
Children under 3 years old: Free
Senior Guests (58 years old and above): RM13.50
1/3 Discount for MYKAD holders
Video / Digital Video Camera: Free of Charge

Discounts available for school bookings and large group. Contact the Penang Butterfly Farm for details.

What to see and do

Enjoy the sight of butterflies fluttering in the enclosure as they consume nectar from flowers and fruits. In addition to the butterflies, the farm also has a menagerie of other animals and insects. Admire the different types of beetles, stick insects, and other fascinating creatures. There is also an enclosure with huge scorpions. There is also a collect of tropical snakes and ducks. Gardening enthusiasts will also be delighted to see a big range of tropical plants growing healthily and many in full bloom.

After you are done with the butterfly enclosure, visit the Insect Library with a vast collect of insects, from beetles to butterflies and more. The owner of the farm is also an avid ethnologist, and has a collection of tribal items on display including masks, effigies, weapons and musical instruments. Some of these items are on sale to interested buyers. The last part of the farm is the gift shop where visitors can purchase souvenirs, t-shirts, trinkets, even books, to remember their trip to the Penang Butterfly Farm.

Further Reading

Visit the Penang Butterfly Farm Official Website to know more about it.


Penang Butterfly Farm (2 December 2007)


[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Getting there

Penang Butterfly Farm is located about 2.2 km or 15 minutes from the Teluk Bahang roundabout. From George Town, take the northern beach road through Batu Ferringhi until you reach the Teluk Bahang roundabout. Make a 9 o'clock turn to the left. You will reach the Teluk Bahang Forest Park (Taman Rimba Teluk Bahang) after passing the Penang Butterfly Farm on the left side of the road. If you are taking public transport, Rapid Penang Bus 101 goes to Teluk Bahang Village. From there you need to change to Bus 501 that heads towards Balik Pulau. Take note that bus services is "sporadic".

Location of the Penang Butterfly Farm on the map

Private Guided Tours of Penang

If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.

To get to know me better, do follow me on Facebook!