Pony Park Opens as New Educational Tourism Destination in Klaten
KLATEN - Klaten Regency has a new tourist destination. Pony Park, an animal education park located in Mojayan Village, Central Klaten District, officially opened on Tuesday (7/7/2026) and is expected to become a new magnet for the local tourism sector.
The initiator of Pony Park, Agung Sulistomo, said the idea arose from observing children today who are increasingly familiar with the digital world but lack direct experience of interacting with animals. Adopting an interactive mini zoo concept, Pony Park offers visitors, particularly children, the chance to interact directly with a variety of animals, from feeding them and animal encounters to riding the ponies that serve as the destination’s main icon.
“Children today are very close to the digital world. Many know various types of animals from screens, but have not necessarily ever seen or interacted with them directly. Through Pony Park, we want to provide a real experience that can foster curiosity as well as empathy towards animals,” said Agung at the grand opening of Pony Park on Tuesday (7/7/2026).
Agung said ponies are the destination’s main icon, complemented by activities such as animal feeding, animal encounters and pony riding experiences designed to be safe for children. In addition, the park features more than 80 animal species, comprising various types of birds, mammals, reptiles, nocturnal animals and performance animals.
Going forward, Pony Park will also develop various educational programmes, ranging from animal introduction classes to simple workshops on how to recognise and care for animals.
“We want children to return from Pony Park not only with photographs, but also with stories and new knowledge. Our hope is that Pony Park can grow to become one of the educational tourism icons and a source of pride for the people of Klaten,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pony Park manager Dipta Sulistyanto said the presence of the destination also serves as a gift to the community to mark the 222nd anniversary of Klaten Regency.
“Hopefully this can bring blessings to the people of Klaten in particular. This is a birthday gift for Klaten,” he said.
Dipta explained that Pony Park is designed as an educational park allowing visitors to interact directly with tame animals whilst fostering concern for animal conservation. To enjoy Pony Park, visitors are charged an entrance fee of Rp 35,000 on weekdays and Rp 45,000 at weekends. Besides interacting with animals, visitors can also enjoy various attractions such as animal shows, pony rides, animal feeding and agility attractions, priced from Rp 5,000 to Rp 35,000.
“We want to provide a service to the surrounding community, and indeed the whole of Indonesia, so that people can enjoy tame animals whilst also fostering concern for wildlife conservation in Indonesia,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Regent of Klaten, Hamenang Wajar Ismoyo, welcomed the presence of Pony Park as an additional tourist destination considered capable of strengthening the tourism sector of Klaten Regency.
“This is a joyful day for us, the people of Klaten Regency. Thank God, after waiting for so long, we finally have one more tourist attraction in Klaten Regency,” said Hamenang.
Hamenang hopes Pony Park can become a new tourist magnet, as its location is in the city centre and easily accessible to visitors from various regions. Hamenang noted that the trend of tourist visits to Klaten Regency continues to rise. Last year, the number of tourist visits reached 7.5 million people, so the presence of a new destination is expected to further strengthen the local tourism ecosystem.
He also reminded the management to maintain service quality, cleanliness and human resources so that visitors do not come only once, but are encouraged to return for holidays with their families and friends.
“Our shared hope is that, with the presence of Pony Park in such a strategic location, it will in future encourage people, whether in Klaten, Central Java or nationally, to increasingly look to Klaten Regency as one of their tourist destinations,” he said.