Taiwan’s Capybara Paradise in Hengchun, Pingtung 墾丁鹿ㄦ島水豚生態園區

Taiwan is capybara crazy – from the newly crowned Capybara Rock near Keelung to Taipei’s Capybara Knight cafe, there are lots of Taiwan capybara things to do.

During a stay at Kenting and day-trip to Hengchun, we recently visited Paradise of Capybara 墾丁鹿ㄦ島水豚生態園區 (map) and got up close to capybaras – as well as a themed stamp trail, there is also the opportunity to swim with capybaras (although we didn’t).

From what to expect to prices, here is our quick guide to Pingtung’s Paradise of Capybara near Kenting.

Taiwan’s Capybara Paradise in Hengchun, Pingtung 墾丁鹿ㄦ島水豚生態園區 near Kenting

You might like – things to do in Kenting >

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Table of Contents

Where is Taiwan’s Capybara Paradise?

Paradise of Capybara is located on the outskirts of Hengchun (Pingtung), a short walk from the downtown area – if you are driving here, there is plenty of parking in front of the park.

We visited from Kenting – take buses 9117, 9118 or the 101 orange Kenting shuttle. The nearest bus stop is about 4 minutes walk away.

Please note the park is also sometimes referred to as ‘Kenting Luyu Island Capybara Ecological Park’. This is the Google Maps link >

You might like – How to get the bus to Kenting from Kaohsiung >

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Taiwan Capybara Paradise admission price / opening hours

Admission to Paradise of Capybara near Kenting costs NT$200 per person (adults are classed as 13 years of age to 65 years old); concession rates are also available. Capybara admission prices are correct as of March 2025.

You can get a discount on Paradise of Capybara tickets if you book in advance with Klook here >

You can also swim with the capybaras, costing an extra NT$800 per person – this takes place daily at 11am, 1pm and 3pm (although on the day we visited, it was cancelled due to windy weather).

The park is open daily from 10am to 5pm (because capybaras need their rest too).

You might like – Our guide to Taiwan’s Capybara Rock, located close to Shen’ao Railbike

Visiting Kenting Luyu Island Capybara Ecological Park

After paying admission, you are free to explore the ecological park – once you go in, you can exchange your ticket for a bunch of grass which you can use to feed the capybaras and other animals.

There are various photo opportunities along the way, our favourite was the Japanese style temple complete with two colossal cartoon capybaras – too cute.

There are also huge capybara models dotted around the park plus a very random space rocket.

You might like – Our guide to Taipei’s famous capybara cafe, Capybara Knight >

Capybara Stamp Trail

Yes, you read that right – there is a capybara stamp trail spread across the park.

It is free to take part and the map gives you all the locations of the stamps – collect them all to receive a NT$100 discount off selected items in the capybara gift-shop. We bought a small gift using our discount!

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Feeding the Capybaras

After you’ve passed the farm pygmy goats by the entrance, pick up your grass and head into the main capybara enclosure.

There are several capybaras that you can feed – you are allowed to get up close and they have a fairly large area to explore and roam around.

The capybaras were of various ages and shapes plus had a pool to soak in. There are also additional areas around the park where you’ll find capybaras including a grassy paddock and the larger swimming pool area.

On our visit, there was at least one member of staff monitoring the capybaras at any given time – goats and Formosan Sika deers were part of the menagerie too (be sure to save some of the other animals; the pygmy goats are rather gorgeous too but do like to leap up).

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Swimming with Capybaras in Taiwan

Paradise of Capybara / Kenting Luyi Island Capybara Ecological Park is apparently the only place in Taiwan where you can swim with capybaras.

Costing NT$800 per person, there are three sessions a day and you get to wear a swimsuit – when we visited, it it was a blustery day so swimming was cancelled. But to be honest, we had no intention of swimming with them as we aren’t sure of the ethical implications plus the capybaras pee and poo in the pool so…

Instead, when we visited the large swimming pool, we just saw two large capybara chilling, eating grass – obviously they didn’t fancy the cold water either.

Try this – the best of Pingtung activities and day-trips >

Capybara Gift Shop

Finally, at the end of your trip, visit the gift shop for lots of cool capybara merchandise (well, some of it is more crappy-bara than capybara).

Inside the gift-shop, you’ll find loads of souvenirs to suit all budgets (and suitcase sizes) and remember to get your NT$100 discount if you completed the stamp trail.

Overall, we thought Paradise of Capybara was an OK thing to do if you are visiting Henchung or Kenting but possibly not something worth visiting Pingtung especially for – after all, you can see Taiwan capybaras in many parks across the island, from Taipei Zoo to Kaohsiung and Yilan.