Visit one of the country's biggest dinosaur parks at the Monkeys Canopy Resort. — GISELE SOO/The Star
While dinosaurs no longer exist, their “legacy” lives on today in many forms, whether it is fossils and skeletal remains in museums, or illustrations and images in books, films and television.
Of course, there are also the fun theme parks with life-sized mechatronic “dinosaurs”, like the one at Kajang in Selangor.
Located within the huge integrated park Monkeys Canopy Resort – which is home to six parks – Dino Desert is said to be Malaysia’s largest dinosaur park.
“Visitors can anticipate the opening of several more parks in the near future,” Monkeys Canopy attraction manager Shahrul Ezwan said when met at the resort.
At Dino Desert, visitors will be taken into a realm of prehistoric giants such as the tyrannosaurus (particularly the tyrannosaurus rex or T.rex), pterosaur and triceratops. If you’ve always imagined what it’s like to be in one of those parks featured in the Jurassic Park movies, well here’s your chance.
There are 150 dinosaur replicas that are fitted with motion detectors – they roar and snarl whenever someone is nearby. They look pretty realistic too. Shahrul shared that “... their appearances are reconstructed based on past excavations and research”.
In this park, visitors can learn many things about dinosaurs as there is an information board mounted next to each creature. For example, did you know that the average height of a tyrannosaurus rex is 12m, and the average weight is 7,000kg?
Meanwhile, the pterosaur can fly as high as 5,000m for up to 10 days without taking a break, apparently.
You can also check out the Fossil Zone where replicas of dinosaur skeletons are on display. Shahrul said that cacti are planted all around the park to make the place “feel” like a desert.
Head to the Lookout Peak to admire a panoramic view of the surroundings. If you visit in the evening, this is the best spot to watch the sunset; the park is brightly lit at night, too.
Apart from the Dino Park, Monkeys Canopy also features one of Asia’s longest go-karting circuits, with a track measuring 1.5km. It will take about eight minutes to drive through the track, which has a series of sharp bends and turns.
If you have more time to explore other parks within the resort, try the EVA, an e-sports virtual arena. You don’t have to be a video or virtual game expert to have fun here, beginners are very much welcome to try all the available games, too.
