Bird Paradise

Some 3,500 birds packed up and moved across the island. Nobody asked them about the commute.

Bird Paradise is a half-day for families with children old enough to compare beaks and feet, and for anyone with a long lens. Start with the outdoor aviaries while it's cool, save Penguin Cove, which is air-conditioned, for the hottest part of the day, and allow four to five hours. The heat is the real test here, not the rain: a drizzle only makes the walk cooler, so don't cancel for one.

For more than 50 years, Singapore's birds lived in the west. Jurong Bird Park opened in 1971 and closed on 3 January 2023, and its collection moved to Mandai, where Bird Paradise opened on 8 May 2023. The new park covers about 17 hectares and holds roughly 3,500 birds from around 400 species, with double the walk-in aviaries of its predecessor. For anyone who grew up with Jurong, the journey got longer and the birds got a much better deal.

Eight worlds, one rule: look up

The aviaries are landscapes first and cages hardly at all. Heart of Africa is the largest, modelled on forested valleys and built around preserved mature trees, with suspension bridges, an observation tower and more than 80 African species. Wings of Asia recreates Bali's bamboo groves and rice terraces for pelicans, spoonbills and storks that have learned to live alongside farming. Crimson Wetlands is the one for colour – scarlet ibises, macaws and American flamingos beneath a waterfall – and Mysterious Papua hides cassowaries and the world's largest population of blue-eyed cockatoos in human care, best seen from a longhouse-style hide.

Old Jurong regulars should make for Lory Loft, which recreates the Jurong aviary of the same name; its lories and lorikeets are curious enough to come to you. Songs of the Forest is the quiet counterpoint, devoted to threatened Southeast Asian songbirds such as the straw-headed bulbul and Bali myna. Stand still and let your ears do the spotting.

The cold room

Penguin Cove is the party piece: a sub-Antarctic, cold saltwater habitat chilled to as low as 8°C, home to king, gentoo and northern rockhopper penguins. Lighting follows the seasonal changes in day length, and underwater feeders release fish at intervals so the birds hunt rather than wait for a bucket. If they look scruffy, blame what Mandai calls “catastrophic moulting”, when they replace every feather at once and stay out of the water for weeks. The whole building is enclosed and air-conditioned, which makes it the place to be when the afternoon sun wins (you will envy the penguins their 8°C).

Before you go

Much of the rest is open-air. Sheltered huts and cooled transition zones sit between the aviaries, so move from one to the next rather than pushing through in the sun. Mandai lists the Egg Splash play area as closed for maintenance from 10 November to 12 November 2026, so families planning around it should pick other dates. Feeding sessions and penguin encounters cost extra and have their own requirements. Khatib and Springleaf are the nearest MRT stations.

It suits anyone who wants proof that a bird can be that red. Walk slowly; the aviaries reward it.

Good to know Mandai lists the Egg Splash play area as closed for maintenance from 10 November (from 2.30pm) to 12 November 2026. Feeding sessions and penguin encounters cost extra and have their own requirements. Nearest MRT: Khatib or Springleaf; check the official site for current hours. Public holidays: Mandai lists Bird Paradise as open daily, 9am–6pm with last entry at 5pm, and lists no public-holiday closure.

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Bird Paradise | 20 Mandai Lake Road (Mandai Wildlife WEST), Singapore 729825 | Nearest MRT: Khatib or Springleaf