Terra Natura Benidorm: zoo areas, tickets and tips

It’s 10.45am, we have just walked through the entrance, and a tiger is already taking a bath a few metres away. That kind of encounter is what makes Terra Natura so popular: the zoo opened in March 2005 on the edge of Benidorm. There are no rows of cages here: the park is designed as a journey, with settings that recall the animals’ home regions, and around 1,500 residents from some 200 species, many of them threatened in the wild.

Three big areas to explore

Terra Natura is organised into large geographical areas that you cross as if changing continents.

Pangea recalls the time when the continents were a single landmass: an introduction mixing Mediterranean plants and European species.

Asia is where the big stars live: tigers, temple-inspired sets and the famous Indian rhinoceros. The park can boast the first Indian rhino ever born in Spain, a birth repeated in 2019.

America takes you through tropical forests and pre-Columbian-style ruins, with parrots, toucans, big cats and reptiles.

Entrance to Terra Natura Benidorm with its gateway and pergolas — The park entrance on Avenida Alcalde Eduardo Zaplana, next to the CV-70. Foundling · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The park is a member of EAZA, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, which means taking part in breeding programmes for endangered species. There are plenty of information panels, so children who always ask ‘why?’ will be in their element.

Male lion with a golden mane lying in the grass at Terra Natura — The lion, star of family photos, and the pelicans, always very chatty at feeding time. Ainhoaic · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsArchangel12 · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Three white pelicans opening their beaks at the edge of their pond — The lion, star of family photos, and the pelicans, always very chatty at feeding time. Ainhoaic · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsArchangel12 · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Tickets and practical information

Our visiting tips

Come early, especially in summer. The animals are far more active in the cooler hours; by mid-afternoon many are napping in the shade (and who can blame them).

Check the activity programme when you arrive: talks, feeding times and educational sessions set the rhythm of the day and often make the best memories.

Comfortable shoes and a water bottle. The park is large and you will walk more than the map suggests.

Allow a good half-day, or the whole day with children who like to linger at every enclosure.

Keep exploring

After the animals, cool off at Aqua Natura, right next door. If your children can’t get enough, Mundomar adds dolphins and sea lions, Safari Aitana offers a drive-through safari in the mountains, and Río Safari Elche completes the picture south of Alicante.