Nong Nooch Tropical Garden & Cultural Village is a landscape park or a garden paradise in Pattaya, Thailand. Encompassing an area of around 600 acres, there are some spectacular landscapes and gardenscapes that are simply amazing to view.
It takes about 50 minutes from Pattaya city to reach Nong Nooch by land depending on traffic conditions. From Pattaya city, travellers can hire a taxi or songtaew to Nong Nooch.
The best option from Bangkok is to pick a tour package that includes Nong Nooch as part of the itinerary. Getting around by foot will be time-consuming, therefore, renting a motorcycle or a bicycle would be an easier mode to explore.
Nong Nooch Tropical Garden & Cultural Village has all the activities – with daily cultural shows, restaurants and accommodation as well as a vast area showcasing species-specific gardens, such as cactus and succulent plants, orchid nurseries, tropical palm, bonsai and topiary garden.
Nong Nooch has been training elephants for more than 3 decades and has a number of elephants in the park. As well as cycling, the elephants at the centre paint, play football, basketball, ten pin bowling and dance.
There is even an Animal Sculpture garden where visitors can find sculptures of animals such as camels, kangaroos, lamas, leopards and deer.
Interestingly, there is even an orchid nursery which house more than 670 native species and hybrids, a must-not-miss for visitors.
Where To Stay
Nong Nooch has its own set of accommodation options to offer visitors. Nong Nooch Village, Nong Nooch Garden Resort and Royal Cliff Hotel are some of the good hotels around here. If you prefer the beach as part of your visit, have a luxurious stay at the Sea Sand Sun Resort and Villas, which is about 3.4 kilometres away from Nong Nooch.
What To Eat
There are quite a number of restaurants and cafes within the area that serves western and local cuisines. You can also have Indian cuisine at Al Diwan Restaurant or dine at a biker joint called Terracotta Restaurant and Bike Stop.
This article first appeared in GOASIAPLUS Asean Guide in 2017. ASEAN Guide is a collaboration with AirAsia to promote places for travellers in Southeast Asia countries from how to go, where to stay, what to do and eat.
