Taman Safari Indonesia is a one-of-a-kind experience – a drive-through zoo that allows visitors to get up close and personal with exotic animals. Visitors literally drive through the zoo, and the animals stick their heads through car windows begging for tidbits.

In the U.S., this kind of zoo would have been sued out of existence long ago, but with a clean safety record, the Taman Safari Indonesia continues to offer face-to-face encounters with the wild in more ways than one!

Taman Safari covers about 35 hectares on the northern slopes of the Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park. Part of the property features a safari-like drive-through encounter with numerous African and Asian animal species. The rest of the park provides facilities for animal shows, restaurants, and camping grounds for visitors who want to extend their Taman Safari experience.

Drive Through Zoo

As you drive toward Taman Safari, you’ll notice rows of vendors selling nothing but carrots. The reason for this becomes apparent as you drive into the zoo – the carrots aren’t for your soup, but for the animals waiting within.

Visitors may drive into the zoo with their own vehicles or ride tour buses provided by the zoo. Private vehicles must pay at a tollbooth before entering the animal enclosure, which is actually a series of compounds enclosing a variety of animals in copies of their native habitats.

Enclosure visitors are officially prohibited from opening their windows, feeding the animals, or exiting the vehicle, although enforcement is quite lax.

You’d do well to follow the rules when you enter the lion and tiger enclosure, for good reason: it holds a number of very healthy leopards, tigers, and lions. As the windows were tightly closed when your guide drove through, though, we mainly saw the big cats lounging in the distance as we passed by.

Some animals are permitted to mingle; the ostriches, zebra, llama, deer, and macaques are free to interact with the vehicles and their riders. But other animals are separated from visitors – the hippos, bears, wildebeest, orangutans, and chimps are separated from the road either by moats or high walls.

Taman Safari Facilities

The drive-through section takes about 45 minutes to complete. As you leave the enclosure, your vehicle will exit onto the parking lot in front of the Taman Safari’s main entertainment promenade, where you can explore the zoo’s other facilities at your leisure.

The “Plaza Gajah” out front has a performing circle where you can mingle with elephants and other tamed animals. Just behind the circle is the Safari Store souvenir shop that sells animal-themed knick-knacks, like stuffed toys and plush toy tails for kids.

The Taman Safari’s “baby zoo” is another up-close-and-personal encounter, this time with baby tigers, leopards, and orangutans. This petting zoo allows you to have your picture taken with a baby animal of your choice, in a setting with a Taj Mahal theme. Other animal exhibits in the vicinity display live bats, Humboldt Penguins, kangaroos, and crocodiles.

If you’re hungry, you can eat at the Jungle Restaurant or at the food court.

Taman Safari’s Animal Shows and Human Accommodations

Taman Safari’s kid-friendly animal shows last about half an hour apiece. Wild cats, birds, dolphins and elephants each get their own show, where they perform adorable animal tricks for the audience. A “cowboy show” with audience participation is one of the Taman Safari’s biggest draws, complete with authentic-sounding gunfire!

After dark, the main promenade becomes the entrance for the zoo’s Night Safari (Saturday nights only, from 7pm to 11pm), which gives visitors an inside look at the lives of Taman Safari’s nocturnal residents. The nighttime tour winds up with a Fire Dance and nocturnal animal show. Entry to the Night Safari costs IDR 30,000 (adult rates; about $3) or IDR 25,000 (about $2.50) for children under 5 years of age.

From the Royal Safari Garden Hotel outside the main zoo premises to the Caravans, Villas and Motel-type rooms at the Lodge inside Taman Safari, overstaying visitors can stay at zoo-affiliated lodgings that cater to the level of comfort they wish to have.

Outdoorsy types will love the Safari Trek, a jaunt through Taman Safari’s trekking trails, with the occasional close encounter with a friendly elephant. The trail terminates at a scenic waterfall.

Taman Safari as a Conservation Center

Taman Safari isn’t in the zoo business just for giggles – the place is a serious conservation center, hosting animals from over 200 species. Taman Safari harbors protected and endangered species from all over the world, and the zoo conducts captive breeding programs to multiply their numbers where possible. Taman Safari has an active Sumatran Tiger breeding program, and manages an additional 260 hectares of land in the vicinity of the zoo to serve as a buffer zone.

The buffer zone is also a natural habitat of silvery gibbons (Hylobates moloch) and Javan leopards (Panthera pardus melas), both endangered species native to Java.

Getting to Taman Safari

Taman Safari is located in the Cisarua-Bogor district of West Java province, about 48 miles south of Jakarta. It normally takes about two hours’ drive from Jakarta to reach Taman Safari, but God help you if you’re traveling on a weekend.

During the weekends, droves of Jakarta residents head towards the cooler climes of Bogor and Puncak, creating interminable traffic jams. Thus, you should consider visiting Taman Safari during the weekday, when roads are all clear.

From Jakarta, you can take a bus headed to Bandung from Kampung Rambutan bus terminal in East Jakarta, then get off at Cisarua. Hail a minibus to take you to the gate of Taman Safari.

Your guide was a guest of Club Bali Kota Bunga, about an hour's drive away from the zoo; this hotel provides tour services for guests who want to explore Taman Safari, car and all. Club Bali guests can book a Taman Safari tour for a total of IDR 850,000 (about $90).

Taman Safari is open from 9am to 5pm daily. Entrance costs IDR 75,000 (about $7.50) for visitors 6 years of age and up, and IDR 60,000 (about $6) for those under five. Cars are levied an additional toll of IDR 15,000 (about $1.50).

Taman Safari’s elevation (about 1,000-1,400 feet above sea level) gives it a cool temperature of between 64-75 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re spending the night, bring jackets to ward off the chill.

For more information, visit Taman Safari’s website at www.tamansafari.com, or email them at safari@tamansafari.com.