Information: Loro Park in Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife)
Loro Parque is Tenerife's most popular wildlife centre with over a million visitors every year. Loro Park (also known as ‘Loro parque’ in Spanish) is a man-made paradise featuring parrots, killer whales, sea lions, dolphins, penguins, sharks ,gorillas, chimpanzees, jaguars, tigers, alligators and many other creatures.
You will need a full day to enjoy the entire park. Home to over seven hundred parrots, the Park has also become home for many other rare and exotic creatures from around the world. It's not to be missed and is a great day out for the whole family!
Attractions at the Loro Park
Orcas Ocean
The orcas have become one of the icons of Loro Parque. Orca Ocean is a huge project carried out in conjunction with Sea World in the USA. The orcas are between 5 and 13 years old and they belong to third generation orcas born in captivity at Sea World´s facilities. The four orcas live together in harmony in the most modern installations in the world, with pools that are between 8 and 12.5 metres deep and 120 metres long. A fantastic home were they can swim and play placidly. The 22.5 million litres of sea water that fill the pools is pumped directly from the Atlantic Ocean from a depth of 65 metres. The pools are kept at a constant temperature of 13 degrees.
Dolphin Pool
The dolphins are probably the most favourite. Their great intelligence and the special empathy they have with human beings make them a perfect companion. It is understandable why this is one of the most popular shows at the Loro Parque.
The dolphin pool, is one of the most modern in the world with its 7 million litres of sea water which is distributed between the different pools. The stadium also has a capacity for 1.800 people.
The acrobatics and loops made by these amazing cetaceans are incredible, with jumps reaching a height of more than 6 metres. Their gentle and playful personalities conquer the hearts of all the public.
Sea lions Amphitheatre
If there is one animal renowned for their acrobatics, balance and charm, these are, without doubt, the Californian sea lions. These funny marine mammals bring laughter to the whole family with their great sense of humor.
The public can see the sea lions agility and their funny movements in the water through a glass window that allows underwater vision. The show is a mixture of games, balance, ballet and dramatic jumps. But without doubt, what these animals enjoy the most is to tease their trainers.
Parrots
The parrots also have a very entertaining show where you can enjoy their beauty and intelligence. With a tradition of over 30 years, the show is now housed in a majestic Arabian palace and has a capacity of 600 people. The parrots are so funny and enthusiastic with their pranks and escapades and the most impressive moment of all is when they release them and you see them circling, flying free, almost brushing the top of your head.
Penguin Planet
Not all penguins live in cold places. In the "Pacific" exhibit, you can observe species that live in the warmer zones of the planet, the Humboldt Penguins which come from the west coast of South America.
Loro Parque has recreated an area for them which is exactly the same as their natural habitat, with more than 50 nests in giant rocks, perfect for reproduction purposes. The temperature of their enclosure is kept at a constant 21º and the water at 17º.
As you go through the ice tunnel you will find an even bigger surprise, because here live some of the most special inhabitants of Loro Parque, the Antarctic Penguins. Planet Penguin is the biggest replica of the Antarctic continent ever constructed. There is snow, ice and it´s just as cold as you would imagine it would be in the Antarctic 0º. They produce 12 tons of snow a day so that the penguins feel at home especially as the water temperatue is kept at 7º.
In this area you can see four different species of penguins: The Kings, Gentoos, Chinstraps and the Rockhopper penguins.
Aquarium
With a total of 1.200.000 litres of water, visitors can contemplate seven different themed exhibits, even recreating the ecosystem of different parts of the world. One of these is a natural living coral reef, built from original volcanic rock brought from the south of Tenerife, which was covered with living coral, both hard and soft, from Indonesia. In this incredible variety of aquatic life, you can observe all kinds of colourful fish. You can also gaze at the African Cichlids, unique fish, found exclusively in Tanganyika´s and Malawian lakes, or shy piranhas that are only found in tropical areas of South America.
There is also the circular exhibition of hundreds of beautiful fluorescent Cardinal Tetras. The most impressive area of the aquarium is the acrylic Shark Tunnel, 18 metres long, where you can see the biggest predators that live on the edges of the reefs; Gray, Black Tip and Nurse sharks.
Naturavision
The impressive glass dome was built exclusively as a cinema which nowadays shows "NaturaVision" which transports you to the most incredible scenery on the planet, showing you dramatic enviroments, similar to the ones in Loro Parque. During the film you will have the chance to discover the flora and fauna of the different Spanish National Parks, the multicoloured coral reefs of the Caribbean, huge plains with beautiful waterfalls on the leafy, dense forest of the Amazon.
Kinderlandia
Kinderlandia is dedicated to the amusement of our younger visitors and here they will find the best and most enjoyable things for them to do. Here you can also celebrate special occasions like birthdays.
Kinderlandia is just like an African village of huts in trees where children can climb and enjoy the jungle, balancing on the hanging bridges and slithering down the snake slide.
Or, try out the Orca roller coaster! It´s the very first one in the Canaries!
Gorillas
Loro Parque houses the largest group of male Western Lowland gorillas in the world. The park has become a pioneer amongst zoos to recreate this social structure in captivity and in 1992, together with the European Breeding Programme for Animals in danger of Extinction created a genetic reserve of these gorillas.
Bengal Tigers
The male tiger "Prince" is one of the few white tigers found in captivity in the world. His companion "Saba" has a normal tiger colouring, brown and black stripes, characteristic of these animals.
Katandra Treetops
Katandra means "song of the birds" and this brand new attraction puts you within a heartbeat of Australia´s famous feathered friends. This free flight aviary is one of the most impressive you will ever see, with hundreds of birds from different species and subspecies.
Explore this amazing habitat as you wander jungle walkways and traverse hanging bridges searching for colourful birds. Meet face to face with loris, cockatoos, emus, laughing Kookaburras and many more other species in this mysterios jungle atmosphere.
Chimpanzees
Chimps live in family groups in Central Africa and usually consist of 15 to 50 animals, ruled over by a union-fission culture. The chimpanzees were rescued by Local Authorities from street photographers who used them to pose with tourists. Fortunately they were donated to Loro Parque.
More Information
Loro park is in Puerto de la Cruz, in the north of the island. Because of its popularity with holidaymakers from around the world, you will find that getting to the park is easy.
There are many companies providing excursions to the park at very reasonable rates. Simply check with your tour operator or holiday rep once you arrive on Tenerife!
Normal Price
Adults (12 years and above) 32 €
Children (6 to 11 yaers old) 21 €
Special discount for residents
Adults (12 years and above) 19.50 €
Children (6 to 11 yaers old) 13 €
The park is open every day from 08:30 till 18:45
LORO PARQUE, S.A.
Avenida Loro Parque s/n - 38400 Puerto de la Cruz
Tenerife - Canary Islands - Spain
Tel.: +34 922 37 38 41
Fax: +34 922 37 50 21
Website in english: http://www.loroparque.com/en/index.asp
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