Everyone who visits Kundasang for the first time will probably stop here. The farm is a famous attraction that is family-friendly and affordable.
What can you do here and is it worth visiting?
Here’s our take on what it’s like here!
Getting Here
We had a rental car for our trip, and this is probably the best way to get here since there is not a lot of room for buses. We did see tour vans though.
There’s a big arch indicating the entrance to the farm, and this is in fact, a biosecurity wash for cars.
Parking is along the road beside the farm. At 10am on a Saturday, it’s already quite crowded.
You can choose to park close to the side entrance of the farm which is what we did. Or drive up further to the main entrance.
Wheelchair Access
Because we had a senior with us, and her portable wheelchair, we’d like to share what the experience of getting around the farm was like if you have a similar situation.
Firstly, you might want to use the main entrance since the way in is nicely tarred. The side entrance is sloped with gravel stones so we couldn’t use the wheelchair until we got past the calf barn, which is up another slope past a little garden.
There are benches around the farm, and enough that we could always find a seat for granny easily.
Some walkways aren’t completely level though and when it comes to the biosecurity wash stations, granny had to leave the wheelchair to walk through them.
The visitor centre is closer to the main entrance than the side entrance. And there is a ramp that leads into the centre. It’s very crowded inside though because there are families queuing at the different food counters.
If you need somewhere quiet and calmer to wait for your group, we recommend the waiting area for the milking station. It’s beside the gift shop inside the visitor center.
What To See At The Farm
See Cows (duh)
Think you can get a photo of you in a field with cows? Think again, visitors are not allowed near the adult cows. Whether they’re grazing in the pasture or resting in the barns.
We took these photos close to the main entrance. There are a lot of people doing the same thing here.
The most hands-on experience you can get with the patchy black and white mammals is over at the calf barn. Here they also have goats. You can feed both with bottles of milk (at an additional charge of course).
Note: There is a breaktime for the calf barn and that is between 12pm to 1:30pm.
Try The Gelato, Yoghurt And Fresh Milk
We bought some near a stall at the visitor center entrance (you don’t have to go inside the visitor center to queue for these particular items).
The chocolate gelato was a little sweet but not too sweet.
The frozen yoghurt was sour in comparison. It took a while before we started appreciating the taste more. It’s like the frozen yoghurt by the llaollao franchise.
2 cups were plenty for our group of 5 to try. We barely finished them.
Later on, we bought a small carton of fresh milk from the visitor center too. It’s very refreshing with a pleasant flavor.
Watch The Milking Process
This is not throughout the day so if you want to see the automated milking operation, you’ll have to come later in the day.
The schedule on the official website lists this activity between 2 to 4pm.
At the time that we came, most of the adult cows were still in their barns (8:30am to 12:30pm).
Observe The Milk Processing And Packing Process
We got to see this activity in action. The viewing panel is over at the visitor center. It begins at 8am until they finish their orders for the day.
It’s very satisfying to see the machine distribute milk into each carton. You can also see how the cartons are folded and sealed without any human intervention.
Enjoy The Views
The farm has a scenic location in Kundasang. The mountains feel very close here and we saw their jagged outlines even on that partially cloudy morning.
At first, it’s kind of hard to ignore the strong smell of cow manure all around but we eventually got used to it.
Conclusion
If you’re coming to Desa Dairy Farm to learn something about the milk industry, everything is only by observation. The few posters they have in the waiting area of the milking station are interesting, but we didn’t see much else that teaches visitors what they are seeing.
It would have been lovely to go along on a site tour at the farm but there is no such service.
To us, this was more of a photo and family outing venue than an educational opportunity. From a kid’s perspective, it is fun because there are animals to see, and ice cream!
The affordable entrance fees (RM5 per adult) are another reason why this place is so popular even if there’s not much to do here. The noisy crowds left us feeling overwhelmed so if you think that will affect you too, it’s better to come here before 9am.
