BIOPARC (ZOO)

Located at the western end of the Turia Gardens, in the Cabecera Park, the Bioparc is a zoo in the heart of the city, covering more than 100,000^m2. Opened in 2008, the Bioparc offers a new concept of "zoo immersion", where visitors are immersed in the animals' habitat, rather than the other way round. As you'll soon see during your visit, the fences have been replaced by natural barriers, giving you the feeling of being truly immersed in the animals. The whole zoo has been imagined as a staging of animal life, where each space corresponds to a real picture of nature: Madagascar, the savannah and equatorial Africa. Replicas of large rocks, caves and giant baobabs plunge visitors into the heart of Africa. The aim of all this staging work is to raise visitors' awareness of the importance of the environment through education and animal conservation. That's the big difference between a traditional zoo and the Bioparc: sure, you come to see animals, but the park's primary aim is to raise visitors' awareness. The tour is organized around three main zones where you can discover the species specific to each habitat:

African savannah: in addition to zebras, giraffes, white rhinos and lions, you can see a group of gigantic African elephants. You'll be lucky if you arrive during the bath - it's an exceptional moment!

Equatorial Africa: home to leopards and chimpanzees, but the star of the show is undoubtedly the gorilla. Ask about their feeding times - it's the best way to see gorillas up close.

Madagascar : here you'll find 7 different species of lemur, a type of monkey typical of Madagascar, which roam freely among visitors. There's also an interpretation center that traces the extinction processes that took place on the island during the ^17th century.