7 Family-Friendly Things To Do in Perlis, Malaysia's Smallest State (2026)

The only snake farm of its kind in Malaysia, originally established around snake-venom research and now run as a state attraction under Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Perlis. Kids get to see snakes, crocodiles, monitor lizards and iguanas across open-air and enclosed pens, and handlers let visitors pose with tame snakes and pet smaller animals like rabbits and chickens — a genuine hands-on wow-factor most theme parks can't match. It's in Sungai Batu Pahat, about 10km north of Kangar, on a 17-acre site. The farm's own rate card lists RM10 for adults aged 13–59, RM5 for children aged 5–12, RM5 for seniors 60 and above, and free entry for children four and under and for OKU visitors — note that this is well up from the RM6/RM3 still quoted on older listings. There's no online pre-booking: tickets are bought at the gate, so bring cash. Daily hours are 9am to 5pm, with a Friday prayer break from 12.15pm to 2.45pm. Time it for a weekend if you can: the Petting Zoo and animal feeding at the Green House only run Friday to Sunday, public holidays and school holidays, 10am to 5pm. The vendor-run add-ons split differently — the 10-minute train ride and electric scooter rental run Wednesday to Sunday plus public and school holidays, while archery and pony rides are Saturday and Sunday only (again plus public and school holidays). Add-on activities are paid separately and your entry ticket can't be used as payment for them. Group bookings go through the office on 04-976 8511.

Image: Taman Ular & Reptilia Perlis (official site)

A calm 4.5-hectare lake dotted with more than 150 small sandbar islands about 8km north of Kangar, crossed by bridges and walkways and maintained as an irrigation reservoir by the Drainage and Irrigation Department. Entry is free and it's open daily, which makes it the easiest yes on this list. There's a proper children's playground, a reflexology path, shaded rest shelters and wide grassy banks for a picnic, plus paid rentals on site — boats and kayaks out towards the islets, bicycles, and a little train that loops the lake, usually the winner with under-sevens. Shade is patchy away from the pavilions, so aim for early morning or late afternoon.

Image: Majlis Perbandaran Kangar

This eco-forest park 13km from Kangar, inside the Bukit Bintang Forest Reserve, has a dedicated shallow pool for younger children right next to a playground, separate from the deeper adult pool (up to about 2m), plus natural swimming holes fed by forest streams for older kids who want something less chlorinated. The Forestry Department lists entry for Malaysians at RM2 for adults and RM1 for children aged 6–17, with under-sixes and OKU visitors free (foreign adults RM5); the man-made pools are charged separately at roughly RM5 and RM3, while the natural stream pools are free to use. Opening hours are 9am to 6pm. The important catch: the Perlis State Forestry Department lists the park as closed every Wednesday except during school holidays and public holidays — the federal Forestry directory still says open daily, so call 04-9765 966 before you plan a midweek visit. There's an information centre, chalets and a campsite, though the official capacity is 40 people rather than the ~100 figure that circulates online; sites are RM15 a night for a large pitch and RM10 for a small one, plus RM10 per adult camping (under-sixes and OKU free). It also hosts the annual Nakawan Rainforest Festival, so it's worth checking for event closures before driving out.

A large reservoir about 17km north of Kangar, ringed by hills and forest, with a main recreational area (Taman Tasik Timah Tasoh) that has picnic spots, a lookout deck and a dam square good for letting kids run around. Boat operators run lake cruises past the reservoir's edges for a family-friendly view of the scenery — a slower, cheaper alternative to paying for a full activity package. Entry to the recreational area is free; boat rides are a small paid add-on.

Image: Suriana Abdullah (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Formerly known as Taman Anggur Perlis (Perlis Grape Garden), this nine-hectare state agricultural park reopened in 2021 with three zones — a grape garden, a superfruit garden and a rare-fruit garden. It's a low-key, unhurried walk where kids can see how grapes and other unusual fruit varieties are actually grown, feed the fish, and hire a kayak on the lake, with flat paths that work for strollers and wheelchairs. It's at R119, Kampung Lembah Tuwi, roughly 10 minutes from Kangar; the park's own Facebook page confirms Tuesday to Sunday, 9am to 6pm, closed Mondays. The official agropark listing puts entry at RM2 for Malaysian adults and RM1 for children, RM1 for seniors 60 and above, free for under-sixes and OKU visitors, with foreign visitors paying RM5 and RM3 — though several recent visitors report not being charged at all on quiet days. Kayak hire is about RM10, and a packet of fish food is RM2. Call 04-938 4466 to check before a special trip.

Image: Taman Buah-buahan Eksotik Negeri Perlis (official Facebook page)

The backup plan for a rainy day or a midday heat spike: an air-conditioned indoor playground inside Kangar Jaya Mall with play structures and games aimed at younger children. Tickets are a one-day pass with unlimited re-entry, which is genuinely useful — you can break for lunch and come back. Kidster's last published Kangar rate card put weekday rates at RM30 per child above 2 and RM20 for ages 1–2, including one guardian free, and weekends, public holidays and school holidays are RM40 and RM25, with additional guardians at RM10. There's also a discounted Special Kids rate — RM20 on weekdays, RM25 on weekends — worth asking about at the counter. That outlet page has since been taken down, so confirm prices at the counter. Kidster's Instagram still lists the Perlis company (Kidster Playland Perlis Sdn Bhd), and it's the only mall-based indoor play option of its kind currently operating in Kangar.

Image: Kidster Malaysia (official Facebook page)

A public swimming pool run by the state Youth and Sports Department (Jabatan Belia dan Sukan Negeri Perlis) at Kompleks Sukan Tuanku Syed Putra in central Kangar, on Jalan Hospital. It's a straightforward, no-frills option for families staying in town who just want a supervised public pool rather than a resort day pass. Plan around two things: the pool is closed on Mondays and public holidays, and one session each week is women-only (the department's 2026 Ramadan notice put that on Tuesdays). Weekday afternoon and weekend morning sessions are open to the public and payment is at the counter. Be aware the department hasn't published a current fee schedule online — its last public price list, from 2018, was RM2 adult and RM1 child on weekdays and RM3/RM2 at weekends, so budget a few ringgit a head but expect it to have moved. Call 04-979 3505 before going: the department posts closure notices whenever the complex hosts swimming championships, and hours shift during Ramadan and the Raya holidays.

Image: Jabatan Belia dan Sukan Negeri Perlis (official Facebook page)