Ayer Keroh

Location: About 10 km from Malacca town, Ayer Keroh is a recreational area with a lake, a country club and two resorts within easy reach. To get there, hit Jalan Taming Sari and follow the signs to Ayer Keroh.

Go as far as the Butterfly Farm, before working your way back via Mini Malaysia and the Recreational Forest. The Butterfly Farm is reputed to have the largest netted butterfly park and insect garden in the world.

Open 8.30 am to 6 pm daily
Admission Charges:
RM4 for adults
RM2 for children

Move on to Mini Malaysia, just a little farther down the road. Explore 13 types of traditional Malaysian houses, representative of the 13 states. Each is manned by a kerbaya-clad duty officer, and each displays a furnishings and mannequins. Most distinctive are the Tuaran Sabah-Lotud Dusun Traditional House and the Iban Long House from Sarawak, made partly of bamboo (painful to walk on) and garishly decorated with some human skulls. There is also an arena where cultural shows and traditional games are sometimes staged.

Use footwear that can be easily slipped on and off, and be prepared for some climbing up and down the houses. Visit Mini Asean, with its representative houses from Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The Filipino house is especially picturesque. Drop by the Pusat Kraftangan Handicarft Centre for an intriguing range of basket ware.

Open 10 am - 6 pm Mondays to Fridays
9.30 am - 6.30 pm Weekends and Public Holidays
Admission Charges:
RM4 for adults
RM2 for children

Just across the road is Hutan Rekreasi Ayer Keroh, a tropical jungle with primary and secondary vegetation. Nature-lovers game enough to rough it out may make their permanent home in the camp-site or the cabins. The recreational forest labels its plants and trees in a manner reminiscent of Singapore's Botanic Gardens. Inside tracks lead to a fitness area, a playground, the Taman Orang Asli Museum and a mouse deer enclosure. The place is good for picnics and nature rambles, as the air is hardly stifling nor humid.

Other attractions around Ayer Keroh (with their equivalents back home) include the Melaka Zoo, Crocodile Farm and Fish World. The Snake Farm, formerly opposite the zoo, has turned into a food centre.

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