Description:

Bioparc is the new space for animals that the city of Valencia has situated in the park called Parque de Cabecera, to the north of the garden of the old course of the River Turia.  Bioparc takes over from the Valencia Zoo that was, for many years, in the Royal Gardens (Viveros Gardens).

Elephants wandering about between baobabs, gorillas playing with other animals, lemurs, giraffes, lions, antelopes, buffalo, leopards, hippos... This is not a television documentary; you and your family can see them up close at Bioparc, Valencia’s innovative zoo, which is celebrating its first birthday this year (2009). Are you going to miss out?

Bioparc Valencia is a singular zoological park created according to the concept of zoo-immersion, which seeks to immerse the visitor in a meticulous recreation of natural habitats. The animals, plants and landscape make up a whole that invites the public to discover the complexity of the natural ecosystems. The first phase is devoted to Africa and it is planned for it to be extended to include South East Asia and the Neotropics.

A recreation of the savannah, antelopes, giraffes and rhinoceroses, lions on rocky vantage points, dens of hyenas and warthogs, the density of the equatorial forest with gorillas, buffalos and leopards or also elephants, hippopotami, crocodiles and coloured fish, these are some of the many attractions of this natural tourist space.

Reports in the United States media suggest that it is wrong to call the Bioparc in Valencia a zoo, despite being home to some four thousand animals. Set in some twenty-five acres, there are no cages and the various species mingle as they would in the wild, with the visitors walking on pathways that are separated from the animals by rivers, rocks or inside tunnels disguised as fallen trees The Parc also participates in several breeding programmes for species that are in danger of extinction. The Park is open on most days and is set near Avenida Pio Baroja in Valencia.