Phuket Butterfly Garden, Insectarium and Aquarium
The Butterfly Gardens are designed specifically for the hosting and breeding of tropical butterlflies and moths, and represents an interesting and educational visit.

The gardens contain about 40 native species. You will see various stages of the butterfly life cycle, from live eggs, larvae, pupae and mating butterflies. Visits may be self-guided or you can have a volunteer guide. You can also learn about the breeding techniques used by the Garden.

The atmosphere is kept artificially moist using a humidifier, enclosed under a large dome. The butterflies are of course flying free in their own mini tropical rainforest environment.


In addition, there is a specific new insectarium containing an ever increasing number of insects. Needless to say, insects have been around for 400 million years and represent 80% of all the world's fauna, and play a major role in the ecology of nature. This provides another interesting aspect to the Butterfly Gardens.

There is also a small aquarium containing corals and unusual fish species such as black-tip sharks and long-horned cowfish.

And the garden itself has streams and ponds providing a home for a large collection of fish such as koi (carp) and rare shell-less turtles.


71/6 Moo 5 Soi Phaniang, Yaowarat Rd, Samkong,
A. Muang, Phuket 83000
(A few minutes from Tesco Lotus, N.W. of Phuket City)
Tel: 076 215616 & 210861     Internet: phuketbutterfly.com



Phuket Orchid Garden and Thai Village
The garden has a large orchid nursery, covering more than 1,600 sq. meters, with a number of exotic & rare varieties of orchids.

And this Garden and Thai Village also offers an opportunity to experience some traditional Thai culture through classical dance, interspersed with Thai boxing, long-pole fighting, sword fighting exhibitions and elephant shows. Dances include Fon Tian (candlelight dance), Fon Leb (fingernail dance), Sukhothai dance, bamboo dance, tin-sifting dance, Norah and Ram Wong (folk dance). During the Ram Wong the audience is invited to join in with the dancers. The performers present examples of the culture of all parts of the Kingdom, but with an emphasis on the unique aspects of Phuket and life in the South of Thailand. The cultural show is twice daily at 11.00am and 5.30pm.

There are also four restaurant pavilions, a playground for children of all ages, Thai handicraft shops, and workshops. The workshops give the visitor the chance to watch the artists and artisans of Phuket, and other regions of Thailand, as they create their special products. In addition to pottery making there is silver working and woodworking, umbrella painting, straw weaving and many handicrafts that are made with seashells particular to Phuket. The selection of Thai handicrafts are ideal for gifts, home & office décor.

The venue also offers Traditional Thai Wedding ceremonies. You can choose a traditional Western wedding, a Brahmin ritual, a Thai procession or a combination of all of these. It is possible to make an official registration by an authorized officer who will legally record the marriage. The Buddhist element is also popular with a traditional ceremony that includes the formal blessings by the Buddhist monks.


52/11 Moo 6 Thepkrasattri Rd, Amphur Muang, Phuket 83000
(2.5km north of Phuket City, just west of Thepkrasattri Rd)
(Samkong district)
Tel: 076 214860/1 & 076 237400     Fax: 076 214859
Email: tvhkt@loxinfo.co.th



Phuket Orchid Farm (Chalong)
This is not a tourist attraction per se. It is a family business. Even though there are many nurseries offering orchids, this is Phuket's largest orchid nursery with 1500 different hybrids and species and was established in 1975.

Extremely interesting orchid garden tours are provided for just 100 baht/person, which includes a complementary Orchid bouquet.

Orchid flowers, orchid plants and flask gardens are for sale. Flask gardens contain hybrids as well as species. Wholesale and retail pricing is available. Cut flowers are packed and ready for international air travel - these are delivered to your hotel one day before your departure.

Orchid Jewelry is also available - all handmade from real orchid flowers dipped in 24 karat gold.
67/1 Soi Suksan, 1 Viset Road, Chalong, Phuket 83100
(2km S.W. of Chalong roundabout on the Chalong-Rawai Rd)
Tel: 076 280226



Phuket Zoo
Phuket Zoo is a relatively small homely zoo, set in 65 rai of lush tropical gardens, located at the northern end of Chalong Bay. It is a perfect relaxing, charming environment for the family, with hours of viewings and entertainment. There are tigers, elephants, monkeys, crocodiles, camels, a bird park, a small exotic aquarium, and orchid garden.

Perhaps the best aspects of the zoo are the three shows, which are held several times daily:

Amazing elephant shows 10.30 am.  1.30 pm.  4.00 pm.
Crocodile wrestling 9.45 am.  12.45 pm.  3.15 pm.  5.30 pm.
Lovely monkey shows 9.00 am.  12.00 am.  2.30 pm.  4.45 pm.

23/2 Moo 3 Soi Palai, Chao Fa Road (East), Tambol Chalong,
Muang, Phuket 83000
(between Phuket City and Chalong roundabout)
Tel: 076 381227   Fax: 076 381337
Email: info@phuketzoo.com
Website: http://www.PhuketZoo.com



Phuket Aquarium
At the Phuket Aquarium there are probably one hundred species of aquatic life on display, many of them from the waters around Phuket.

It was re-opened to the public in April 2005, after a two and a half year extensive renovation project. One of the highlights of the new aquarium is a 10 metre long underwater glass tunnel.

The Phuket Aquarium & Marine Biological Research Centre is Thailand's major marine biological research station, and conducts research on tropical reef ecosystems, commercial fisheries, and other projects. The centre also hatches and breeds species of endangered sea turtles in order to release them back into the sea.

The Aquarium is well laid out, with labels in English and Thai. In the main hall, the display is divided into two sections - marine creatures, and fresh water plants & fish.

The marine life display consists of some 22 tanks. An underwater glass tunnel exhibits some of the diverse marine life from the Andaman Sea (such as banner fish, butterfly fish, Napoleon wrasse, grouper, snapper, and bluefin trevally).

There are over fifty species of fresh water plants and fish (eg amazon cobia, electric eel) on display in the second section.

There is also a "Touch pool", which is inhabited by shallow reef creatures such as sea stars and sea cucumbers. Visitors may gently touch these cretaures.


Getting there: Phuket aquarium is located at the extreme south eastern tip of the island at Ao Makham on Cape Panwa. A Songtaew (local bus) can be taken from the Talad Soht, or Fresh Market in Phuket town.

Opening hours: 08:30 am - 4:00 pm daily
Admission fee: Adults: 100 Baht   Children: 50 Baht

Crocodile Farms and Shows
Chana Charoen Crocodile Farm is probably the most well known farm. There is an interesting aquarium with some 1,000 aquatic species, especially freshwater and estuarine crocodiles and alligators.

The setting is an open tropical garden-zoo atmosphere, and there are also some snakes, birds, and an elephant show.

Chana Charoean Road (behind the Paradise Theater),
outskirts of Phuket City
Daily shows in the morning and afternoon. Open 9am - 6pm


There is also the crocodile show at Phuket Zoo, as already referenced on this page.

Elephants
Elephants are the very symbol of Thailand. The Thai elephant has been an integral part of Thai culture for centuries. The elephant is regarded as the symbol of prosperity and power, and grace, befitting that of a monarch. Revered by ancient kings, the majestic Thai elephant held a respected place in Thai history and is prominently featured in Thai legend, literature, Buddhist folklore, art and architecture.

The Thai elephant belongs to the mainland subspecies of the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus. It is a graceful creature of great intelligence, known for its unwavering loyalty, and a remarkable ability to learn. It is capable of forging friendships and life long bonds with its mahout – the individual who cares for it. In daily life, mahout and elephant depend on each other and the elephant is treated as part of the 'family'. From the beginning of Thai history, elephants have nobly and faithfully served both kings and commoners in war and in commerce.

Sadly the majestic wild Asian elephants, that roam the forests of Thailand, have dwindled in numbers. It is notable that at the start of the 20th century over 100,000 elephants graced the Thai countryside. Today only 3,000 - 4,000 Asian Elephants are left in Thailand. Around half of this number are domesticated, the remainder living wild in National Parks Reserves.


Tourism provides one of the few legal ways for captive elephants and their owners or mahouts (handlers) to earn a living in Thailand today. Due to a ban on logging ten years ago, the elephants lost their traditional source of support. A good proportion of Thailand's captive elephants are in full or part time use in the tourism industry.

Nearly two hundred elephants are currently working on Phuket providing visitors with safari trips into the jungle and along the waterways. Almost this entire population of Asian elephants have been trucked to South Thailand from the country's northeastern region.

It probably comes as no surprise to learn that an average adult Asian elephant, weighing between three to five tons, consumes a lot of food and drink on a daily basis - 250 kg of vegetation and 200 litres of water. Since Phuket has only limited resources, much of the food has to be brought in from neighboring provinces. All elephants have a personal mahout or trainer who cares for their daily needs.

There are at least twenty five elephant trekking camps and locations on Phuket, and your hotel will no doubt offer suggestions and recommendations.

One of the original, largest and most well known trekking tour companies is the Siam Safari Nature Tours which has over 16 years experience of operating nature tours in Southern Thailand. They offer elephant trekking, jungle trekking and more. They are based in Chalong and their elephant camp is in the Chalong highlands midway between the east and west coasts.
They also offer elephant trekking further afield in Khao Sok National Park on the mainland.
Siam Safari Nature Tours Co Ltd
45 Chao Fah Road, Chalong, Phuket 83130.
Tel: 076 280116   Fax: 076 280107

The Dusit Laguna Resort Hotel joined with Siam Safari Nature Tours in late 1997 to form the Elephant Help Foundation, a non profit society which raises funds for medical supplies and other support for the large animals. Their aim is the successful conservation of the elephants left in the wild, and creating a good future for the domesticated elephants. The Foundation's address is:
390 Srisoontorn Rd., Chergtalay, Thalang, Phuket 83110
Tel: 076 324324 and 280116   Fax: 076 324174
Email: help@elephanthelp.org and elephanthelp@siamsafari.com

Future plans of the Foundation include setting up an elephant sanctuary in the region to care for old, blind, sick or injured elephants which will include a burial ground.

In conjunction with the Foundation, Siam Safari have set up a Mobile Elephant Clinic to facilitate veterinarian visits to any sick animals.

Most of Phuket's international resorts have a donation box for the Elephant Help project. A visitor to Phuket can make an important contribution to the well being of the elephants with a monetary gift.



Snake Farms
Thailand is the habitat for several varieties of venomous snakes as well as many harmless species. The poisonous snakes that are indigenous to Thailand are cobra, king cobra, banded krait, Russell’s viper, some pit vipers and many of the thirty species of sea snakes.

Many snake farms extract venom from the snakes in order to study and develop anti-venom serum to treat snake bite victims. The normal procedure for extracting the venom is through the use of a glass receptacle with a membrane cover. The snake handler holds the snake just behind the head and places the glass receptacle for the snake to bite into the membrane. The venom flows into the glass receptacle. The venom is then used to make the vaccines. Sometimes snakes are also bred at the farms.


Typically shows at the farms are partly educational with demonstrations on what to do if you encounter a snake in the wild or get bitten by one. The rest of the show involves snake handlers charming and performing stunts with poisonous snakes (pit vipers and especially cobras) and the handler will no doubt kiss a king cobra on its head. The audience may get a chance to handle a (lazy, non-poisonous) python.

The three main snake farm shows on Phuket are:

Phuket's original Snake Farm, 2/1 Sririrath Road, Patong Beach
(near Simon Caberet)

Andaman Cobra Show on Soi Ta-iad, off Chao Fa (East) Rd
(a few kms north of Chalong roundabout)

Phuket Shooting Range in Chalong
tel: 076 280130
(west of the Chalong roundabout on Route 4028)


Cashew Nuts Factory and Farm
The production and preparation of cashew nuts is one of Phuket's lesser known local industries. Although the nuts are often an expensive treat in many parts of the world, in Phuket cashews can be purshased fairly inexpensively in their natural raw state, or prepared with a variety of spices or flavours.

The Cashew Tree is quite a useful tree, and every part (roots, bark, leaves, fruit, oils and of course the nut) has it's uses (including medicines, drinks, and even industrial purposes such as a component for auto brake linings).

In addition to the nut, the juice (cashewy drink), made from the cashew apple, is becoming quite popular, and is reported to have medicinal benefits. The Cashew juice is sold in concentrated form, and contains all natural flavours and colours with no preservatives.

You will no doubt be invited to taste upto a hundred varieties of cashew nuts, and you will be given information on growing, harvesting and preparing this delicious nut.

Visits to these cashew locations are certainly very interesting, and of course local cashew produce are available for sale there.




The two most well known cashew farms are as follows:
(both have two seperate locations)

Methee Phuket
26/ 3 Surin Road, Muang, Phuket City 83000
Tel: 076 233555     Fax: 076 219624
and at
9 Tilok-Uthit 2 Road, Muang, Phuket City 83000
Tel: 076 219622-3     Fax: 076 219624

Sri Supphaluck Orchid
51/9 Moo 5 Thep-Kasattri Road, Sri Soonthorn, Thalang, Phuket 83110
Tel: 076 272915-8     076 272916
and at
Sri Bhurapa Orchid
7/1 Khuang Road, Baan Tinkhao, off Chao Fa East Rd, Phuket 83000
Tel: 076 213465 & 225936     Fax : 076 244788


Phuket Pearls
Phuket is Thailand's main region for cultured pearls. Some of the more luxurious Southsea species of pearl cultivated here measure more than one centimeter in diameter. They take up to five years to grow and are typically priced at 230,000 baht for a pair. Necklaces of grey-black pearls cost five times as much.

There are several pearl farm companies, and at least two allow visits to the actual farms.

One such farm is Phuket Pearl Farm Co. which has been in operation for twenty five years, and their demonstration farm is located on Rang Yai Island just a few minutes from Boat Lagoon Marina, off the east of Phuket. It produces top quality pearls for export around the world. There is a live demonstration of how pearls are cultured, harvested and turned into beautiful pieces of jewelry. Please refer to our Island section for location details. They have a larger farm on the more remote Nakha Yai island.


Although almost all pearl farms are situated off the sheltered eastern coast, the industry did suffer some damage from the December 2004 tsunami and many oysters were washed away.