This post was created in collaboration with The Habitat at Penang Hill. We received no monetary compensation for this post, however our visit was complimentary. As always, our opinions are our own.

From the first time we spotted a brochure for The Habitat at Penang Hill we were super intrigued. Based on its beautiful rainforest ziplines, wildlife, and treetop walk we knew that this would be our kind of adventure. Both of us are nature lovers, and getting into the wild is one of our favorite ways of experiencing new destinations. However, we hesitated when we realized that the Habitat was located at Penang Hill...the ultimate tourist trap in Penang.

After nearly five months of living in Penang, we still hadn’t visited Penang Hill. As travel bloggers, a part of us was feeling guilty about it...the other part was dreading having to deal with the long queues for the funicular, and the hordes of tourists at the top. Sure, the panoramic view of the island would be beautiful, but was it worth dealing with the crowds, and how about the cost? 

Spoiler Alert: The Habitat at Penang Hill is basically the ONLY good reason to visit Penang Hill, and it was totally worth the cost. 

What is The Habitat at Penang Hill?

The Habitat at Penang Hill is a nature reserve designed to give visitors an immersive rainforest experience, with as little impact on the environment as possible. Originally the land was used by the British for recreation and a drainage trail to prevent land erosion in other parts of Penang Hill. The Habitat has repurposed the original structures built by the British, and have also employed environmentally conscious building techniques for all subsequent development. 

The Malaysian rainforest is a 130 million year old ecosystem, and one of the most biologically diverse places on earth. According to The Habitat website, scientists have estimated that 20% of the earth’s animal species call the Malaysian rainforests home. Visitors to The Habitat have the opportunity to experience the Malaysian rainforest first hand through a number of immersive experiences without having to feel like they’re contributing to the further destruction of the Earth’s beautiful resources. There are no captive animals at The Habitat, so any wildlife encounters you may have will be completely by chance!

What is the cost to visit The Habitat at Penang Hill?

Standard admission to The Habitat costs 55RM for adults, and 35RM for students, children, and senior citizens. However, there are some great add ons that enhance your experience as well as increase the cost of your visit. The Flight of the Colugo zipline experience costs 160RM per adult, 140 for children, students, and seniors. And the Kancil Walk, a guided tour with one of The Habitat’s very knowledgeable naturalists costs 85RM for adults, 55RM for students, children, and seniors. 

For the ultimate experience, we recommend the Signature Rainforest Experience which includes all of the above for a total of 190RM per adult, 160RM for children, students, and seniors. You can buy tickets for most experiences through The Habitat's Website.

How to get to The Habitat at Penang Hill

The Habitat is located on the back side of Penang Hill, and the only way to get there is by taking the Penang Hill funicular which originates at the Penang Hill Lower Station in Bukit Bendara, Penang. For non-Malaysian visitors the roundtrip ticket price for the funicular is 30RM for adults, 15RM for one way (if you choose to hike down). The fast lane ticket costs 60RM per adult for round trip, or 45RM for one way. There are discounted rates for children, students, and seniors as well. 

The funicular ride itself lasts about 4.5 minutes each way and was one of the highlights of the trip. The track is incredibly steep, and the funicular moves quite fast. Try to get a position toward the very front or back of the car to take advantage of the views on the way up and down.

The bridge itself is quite remarkable, but the real attraction is the forest that surrounds it. Walking along the The Langur Way, you can clearly see all of the layers of the impressive jungle from the forest floor to the canopy above. As we crossed the bridge, our guide pointed out a giant black squirrel jumping from limb to limb in the distance. It was so cool to see such a uniquely large squirrel (about one meter in length), and with our untrained eyes we would never have spotted it ourselves. Our guide had been working at The Habitat since before it opened, so she knew exactly where the animals like to hang out, and exactly where to look for them. 

As we walked across, we also encountered a bright green lizard just hanging out on the side of the bridge. We were able to get quite close and snapped a few pictures before it took a giant leap of faith onto one of the trees below! 

We encountered a few lizards on the trail, an ancient trilobite, as well as a giant moth that was bigger than my hand. Our guide’s knowledge seemed endless as she explained everything we encountered in great detail. She knew the names of every plant and animal, and was able to tell us interesting facts about all of them. 

Every part of The Habitat seemed to be designed to protect the nature. The trail has several information boards, posted unobtrusively along the way, which give information about the various flora and fauna found within The Habitat. To reduce potential waste, plastic bottles are banned within the park. We never saw a single piece of trash anywhere. We did however encounter bottle filling stations, so you can refill your reusable bottles and stay hydrated at all times.

One of our favorite spots along the trail was the giant swing which extends out into the trees! The swing was so smooth and relaxing, we could have sat there all day, maybe even taken a nap if there weren’t so many more awesome things to see.

We spent about 20 minutes up there just snapping photos and soaking up the breathtaking views. Even on a cloudy day we were impressed by how much we were able to see from this high vantage point. 

We got a great view of the Penang Governor’s Mansion, Bel Retiro, a private residence which is only inhabited by the caretaker when the governor is not present. We thought this must be the best job in all of Penang! This lookout spot was originally used by the British to watch for approaching enemy ships. If enemies were approaching, they would fire the signal cannon to warn the troops at Fort Corwallis down in George Town of the impending invasion! You can still see the cannon there today. 

After taking in the breathtaking sights from the Curtis Crest Treetop Walk, we soon said goodbye to our naturalist guide, and moved on to our next attraction, the zip lines!

The feeling of flying through the rainforest, looking down upon the forest below was like none other! It was so thrilling to dangle my feet into the nothingness as I zipped along on the wire. At each platform, Waheeda and Naqibah would explain the various trees and plants around. They pointed out the sap flowing from the trees, the fruits growing on them, and explained their significance to the local population. They were so knowledgeable, and gave us a ton of information along the way about the construction of the zip line course and showed us how it was designed to minimize impact on the supporting trees. 

The Flight of the Colugo was definitely the highlight of our day at The Habitat! We were able to see parts of the Habitat that are inaccessible from the main trail, and even spotted a really cool horned lizard hanging out on one of the trails between lines. We felt like we’d made two new friends in Waheeda and Naqibah by the end of it, and didn’t want to leave. Remember when I said before that we thought the caretaker at the governor’s mansion had the best job? We were wrong. The zipline guides have the coolest job around!

Tips for visiting The Habitat:

• Bring a refillable water bottle: In an effort to protect the environment, The Habitat has banned single use plastic bottles on the property. There are stainless steel bottles available for purchase, but they also have water bottle refilling stations around the property that you can use to refill your own bottle. 

• Wear insect repellent: The Habitat is a jungle. There are plenty of mosquitoes flying around. If you don’t want to be bitten, we recommend using repellent or wearing clothes to cover your body. 

• Bring binoculars: It’s not a must, but a pair of binoculars would be quite useful to spot wildlife in the distance. 

• Wear good, comfortable walking shoes: The majority of the Habitat’s walking trails are paved, so you don’t need hiking boots, but there is a lot of walking to be done, so heels wouldn’t be the best choice. 

• Wildlife is not a guarantee: While the jungle is teeming with wild animals of all sorts, The Habitat has no captive animals whatsoever. Animal sightings are purely by chance. 

• No outside food/beverage: In an effort to minimise waste in The Habitat, outside food and drink are banned. However, there are some small cafe/snack bar areas where you can purchase low waste snacks and drinks.

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