Follow the arrows upward to the lofty bird outpost that is Parrot Mountain.

Parrot Mountain

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

At some point during your visit to Parrot Mountain, a bird will sit on your head.

Forested setting gives Parrot Mountain plenty of shade.

That's part of the appeal of Parrot Mountain, an unexpected slice of Florida (reminiscent of that state's long-gone tourism classic, Parrot Jungle) in east Tennessee. It's literally on a mountaintop. Visitors in RVs, or in overloaded or underpowered vehicles, must park at the base of the hill and be driven up the steep entrance road. The birds, we were told, have acclimated themselves to their lofty, nontropical surroundings, and the attraction stays open nine months out of the year.

Parrot Mountain exists thanks to Fletcher Hollingsworth. Fletcher lived in Mississippi until, he said, he had a vision from God telling him to come to Tennessee, specifically to a spot near Dollywood, and build a bird park. In appreciation for this good advice, Parrot Mountain displays Bible verses on little plaques along its walkways, and has a bird-free Prayer Garden with a Nativity scene, a replica of the Open Tomb, and a seven-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ.

Small corner of the meet-and-greet bird yard where dozens of parrots are fed by, and sit on, the public.

The overwhelming focus of Parrot Mountain, however, is birds: clucking, whistling, squawking, laughing, screeching birds. One parrot can be loud; several hundred parrots can sometimes make you want to stick fingers in your ears.

The birds look well cared-for (a healthy-looking parrot that we met named Sid was born in 1956), and the attraction has been built with as little disruption to the native rocks and trees as possible. In one section, elevated boardwalks give visitors the sense that they're strolling through a forest canopy at bird level.

Young macaw in the parrot nursery poses for the camera.

Fletcher's son, also named Fletcher, showed us around. He told us that he'd been raised in the world of Parrot Mountain since it opened in 2002, when he was only four years old. "My kindergarten teacher once asked the class where we were born," he told us. "I said I was hatched."

Signs throughout Parrot Mountain caution visitors not to try and feed the birds that are on perches out of easy reach. These are the animals that haven't yet been human-socialized, and you would be smart to heed the warnings; Fletcher told us that some parrots can bite with the force of a crocodile. Remember: birds used to be dinosaurs.

Rare species, such as Toucans and Kookaburras, are housed in large look-only aviaries. Exotic birds can live 80 years, and Parrot Mountain maintains a waiting list of people who want to donate former pets that have outlasted their owners. "People put them in their wills for us," said Fletcher. A Hornbill in its own enclosure once belonged to the late Hugh Hefner and lived at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills. "If he could talk," said Fletcher of the bird, "we probably couldn't have him on display."

Fletcher Hollingsworth and Zelda, a red-tailed black cockatoo.

The heart of Parrot Mountain is in what Fletcher called its "super hands-on" areas, where tourists can feed and be sat on by Macaws, Parakeets, and Cockatoos with names such as Bella, Bobo, Skippy, Buddy, O'Reilly, Geppetto, and Sheamus. In one large walk-in aviary, visitors are handed a tiny cup of nectar and are then instantly swarmed by a dozen scent-crazed Australian Lorikeets. "Load me down!" said a jolly Fletcher to a Parrot Mountain technician as he was draped in a dozen different birds (including one on his head). Adult Macaws -- big birds -- weigh around four pounds apiece. Holding several on your outstretched arms is a workout.

"When you raise them from a baby, it's easy to train them," said Fletcher, explaining why these interactive birds have no fear of people. Training only goes so far, however, and during the classic human-bird-perch photo-op, or the lorikeet nectar swarm, or while walking through the meet-and-greet bird yard, you may wish that you had worn a hat.

Parrot Mountain snow globe souvenirs. In real winter weather, the birds are kept indoors and warm.

The loudest part of Parrot Mountain is its indoor nursery, where the collectively screeching inhabitants can reach a decibel level painful for humans (but apparently not for parrots). Visitors who've become entranced at Parrot Mountain can buy one of these young birds to take home with them. An exotic, hand-reared parrot costs several thousand dollars, and we were told that the attraction sells several every week.

"I think they're underestimated, you know," said Fletcher of birds in general. "People don't realize how smart they are." As an example, Parrot Mountain has had, in over 20 years, only a few strays among its hundreds of winged, uncaged residents. "If they leave, they come back," said Fletcher. "They know where home is."