Explore Herpetology | Herping Tours

Date: Contact us to book a date for this tour.

Difficulty: Accessible for those of all ages and abilities.

Participants: 1-4

Maximum days: 3

What is it?

Situated in the Klang Valley, Kuala Lumpur is a huge, modern, metropolitan city. However, as soon as the city limits end, it is replaced by huge expanses of malayan-mixed dipterocarp rainforest - one of the most biodiverse biotopes in the world. The Kuala Lumpur short tour offers night walks to several different areas around the city, where a remarkable diversity of fantastic fauna can be uncovered. Our locations include mature lowland rainforest, overgrown rubber plantations within the city and estuarine mangrove forest. This tour is suitable for both experienced herpers, families, beginners and other inquisitive naturalists. We take bookings for groups of up to 5 people, and one can book 1-3 nights.

What can we find?

Encountering high numbers of snakes can be difficult in high biodiversity lowland rainforest, but there is an amazing diversity of species occurring here - all of which are possibilities on this tour. Within KL’s secondary forests, Wagler’s pit viper (Tropidolaemus wagleri), painted bronzeback (Dendrelaphis pictus) and Asian vine snake (Ahaetulla prasina) are all common, with other beautiful species such as the Malayan banded coral snake (Calliophis intestinalis), reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) and paradise flying snake (Chrysopelea paradisi) occurring quite often. If one is extremely lucky, the Sumatran spitting cobra (Naja sumatrana) can be seen in the early evening.

The mature lowland rainforests on the east of the city are definitely the hardest place to find snakes, but are home to the rarest and most impressive species. Hagen’s pit viper (Trimeresurus hageni) occurs here, along with many different species of cat snake (Boiga sp.) and the legendary red-headed krait (Bungarus flaviceps). There are also several fantastic frog species occurring in this area, mainly the famous Wallace’s flying frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus) and the potentially even more impressive Norhayati’s flying frog (Rhacophorus norhayatii).

Lastly, we offer trips to the mangroves on the west side of the city, where the incredible banded krait (Bungarus fasciatus) is a common sight. Mangrove pit vipers (Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus) are also abundant within this habitat. Rare saline mud snakes do occur here, albeit far from frequently seen.

Pictured within this page are more animals which we have observed in these locations.

How does it work?

Our guide will send you a specific meeting location which is accessible by car and meet at an agreed time. We also offer pickup/dropoff for an additional fee. After a brief introductory talk and safety briefing, we will venture into the forest. We aim to finish around midnight, but can finish earlier at your request. Once the night is finished, we will part ways from the original meeting location.

The Guides:

Our guides are both Kuala Lumpur locals with many years of experience leading herping tours to rainforests across Malaysia. Their photographs are demonstrated within this page.

@steven_wong_45

@wayneson_tay

The experiences available on this tour include:

- A nighttime walk in secondary rainforest within KL

- A nighttime walk in mature lowland rainforest

- A nighttime walk in mangrove forest

Pricing:

1 person: £100.

£40 for every additional individual.

£30 for children under 18.