Which Is the Largest Zoo in Myanmar?

The largest zoo in Myanmar is Naypyidaw Zoological Gardens: at 612 acres it is also the largest zoo in South East Asia, built in 2008 to be nearly nine times the size of the older Yangon Zoological Gardens (69 acres, opened 1906). Both are run by the same operator, Htoo Zoos and Gardens, so the bigger zoo doesn't mean a completely different day out — it mostly means more space per animal and a longer drive to reach it. If you only have time for one, the choice comes down to whether you'd rather see Myanmar's original zoo collection in its biggest city or its newest and largest in the capital.

Which zoo to choose

Featured location Naypyidaw Zoological Gardens Naypyidaw, Myanmar The zoo lies on the Yangon-Mandalay highway some 400 km north of Yangon. It covers 612 acres and opened on 27 March 2008, Armed Forces Day, with about 420 animals moved from the Yangon zoo. The collection includes elephants, crocodiles, tigers and white tigers, leopards, zebras, kangaroos and a hippo, and there is an air-conditioned penguin building.

Naypyidaw Zoological Gardens opened on 27 March 2008, Myanmar's Armed Forces Day, when about 420 animals were transferred from Yangon to stock it. At 612 acres it is sized more like a national park than a city zoo. By December 2009 it held 634 animals of 89 species: 304 mammals across 34 species, 265 birds across 44 species and 65 reptiles across 11 species, including elephants, crocodiles, tigers, leopards, zebras, kangaroos, a hippopotamus and an air-conditioned penguin house.

Yangon Zoological Gardens is the older and smaller of the two. It formally opened as the Victoria Memorial Park and Zoological Gardens on 25 January 1906, though its animal collection dates to 1882, making it Myanmar's original zoo. Its 69-acre grounds hold 145 land animal species — 60 mammals, 67 birds and 18 reptiles, including eight endangered species such as tigers, Asian elephants and Eld's deer — and it draws nearly 2.2 million visitors a year, far more than its smaller size might suggest.

Neither zoo runs itself. Htoo Zoos and Gardens is not a zoo you visit — it's the business unit of Htoo Group of Companies that has managed both since taking them over from Myanmar's Forestry Department, starting as a contract in April 2011 and operating independently from November 2011. It also runs Yadanarbon Zoological Garden in Mandalay, the neighbouring Naypyidaw Safari Park and Planetarium, Hlawga Park, National Kandawgyi Gardens, National Landmarks Garden and Kandawgyi Hill Resort, and it holds institutional membership of the Southeast Asian Zoos and Aquariums Association. So the two zoos share an owner; what differs is size, age and location.

What not to miss

At Yangon Zoo, start with a pair of Bornean orangutans that arrived in May 2026 and its red panda -- the two species Naypyidaw doesn't have -- alongside its hippopotamus. The Carnivora House, Reptile House, Natural History Museum and Elephant Museum are the zoo's core exhibits, and because a museum, an aquarium and an amusement park share the same 69-acre park, a visit stretches naturally into a half-day out rather than a single stop.

At Naypyidaw, the animals carry the visit rather than the buildings: elephants, crocodiles, tigers, deer, leopards, monkeys, white tigers, zebras, kangaroos and a hippopotamus, plus an indoor, air-conditioned penguin house. Next door, the separate Naypyidaw Safari Park adds three more sections — Asian, Australian and African — covering nearly 100 acres and explored by buggy, so pair the two if you have a full day in the capital.

Best time to visit

Both cities share the same rhythm: a wet season from May to October and a dry season from November to April in which little rain falls. Naypyidaw's dry season starts mild and heats up as the rains approach, with April its hottest month, averaging a maximum of about 37°C (99°F) — worth planning around if you're spending hours in the open-air enclosures.

Neither Yangon nor Naypyidaw appears in the FCDO's lists of areas it advises against travelling to at all, or against all but essential travel, as of its last update on 4 August 2026 — but that advice can change quickly, so check it again close to your trip.

Getting there

Yangon Zoo is at Kan Road, Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township, inside the city, so a taxi or ride-hailing app from anywhere in Yangon reaches it directly.

Naypyidaw sits on the Yangon-Mandalay highway, about 250 miles (400 km) north of Yangon. The four-lane, 323-kilometre Yangon-Naypyidaw highway is the direct road link. By train, the journey to Pyinmana near the capital takes about nine hours, on a service that leaves Yangon at noon and arrives at 9:30pm. Naypyidaw also has its own international airport with regular flights from Yangon — the fastest option if the zoo is the main reason for your trip.