Bioparc València, Valencia

Bioparc València is a zoo built around the idea that you enter the animals’ world rather than viewing it through a line of cages. Its habitats use waterways, ponds, rocks and concealed barriers to divide people from animals, while planted settings recreate African environments. The park covers about 10 hectares and concentrates on African wildlife, including elephants, gorillas, hippos, crocodiles, lemurs and many birds.

Its landscapes are arranged as dry and wet savannah, equatorial forest, wetlands and Madagascar. The Madagascar area brings several lemur species together, while the forest settings include chimpanzees, leopards and gorillas. In the wetlands, an imitation of Kitum Cave contains aquariums and openings onto enclosures for elephants, hippos and crocodiles, including an underwater viewing area.

This place also has a notable local milestone: Makena was born here, the first elephant born in the Valencian Community. The park opened in 2008, after animals moved here from the former Viveros zoo. As you take in the scenery, the striking feature is not a monumental façade but the way rivers, streams, rocks and vegetation make the boundaries between visitor and habitat seem to disappear.