A trip to the Limassol Zoo

We are always looking for things to do with our boys especially our 2 years old who need lots of activities to keep him happy and away from watching Barney all day.

We usually do the same things with him all the time, we either go to the park across from Carrefour in Paphos, walk down by the Paphos harbour or visit our friends who also have a boy around the same age. We try and add variety to his schedule which is not always easy in Cyprus as we feel there are not many child-friendly places – for very little ones at least.

We have inquired about a zoo or animal park and everyone we asked told us about the zoo in Limassol next to the public gardens, but no one recommended we go there. Many reasons were given from being very small to a place of inhumane practices and too horrific to see. However, when I asked, no one was able to tell me exactly what animals were there:  “there used to be a bear but not anymore,” ” I think there are monkeys,” “I think they have a giraffe” but no one was sure.

Well, this past weekend we decided that our son would like to see some animals and since we aren’t planning any other trips in the near future, we set off to Limassol early Saturday morning. We found it pretty easy to find, it’s next to the waterfront and the Municipal Gardens on the main road. We were pleasantly surprised on our arrival because the parks that lead into the zoo are very large, have a lot of large trees, it is very picturesque and there are a number of different play areas with slides, swings etc. that were all maintained and worked properly. This is something that we feel Paphos needs to improve on but now we finally found a nice place to come with our children to. We had to trick our son in order for him to by-pass all the fun and excitement in front of him and coaxed him toward the zoo area.

When we arrived we found another pleasant surprise – the entrance price was only .80 cents for adults and .40cents for children and we only had to pay 1.60 which I thought was great and if we got too see only one exotic animal it would be worth it. The first animal as you enter was the mouflon sheep which under the normal circumstance I would not have been impressed but a couple of days earlier I learned that this animal is only found in Cyprus.

We then saw a zebra which was exciting for my son, a single camel that I must say was the only thing I didn’t like only because I hate the idea of having only one animal of any kind. I like to think that even in the worst situations in life it’s always good to have someone to share it with. There were 2 tigers, panthers, monkeys, lots of birds and other less exotic animals like rabbits, guinea pigs and yes, even chickens which by the way had almost the same amount of room as the monkeys and vultures!

It is ideal for young children to see some exotic animals up close however my wife didn’t like it because the animals are not kept in anything close to their natural habitats or with nearly enough room. I believe the potential is there and with little effort it can be much nicer.  Just enjoy it for what its worth which basically a nice outing for a family with children under 3 or 4. But, do plan to spend much more time in the parks than the zoo!

Published Tuesday, November 27, 2007 4:33 PM by Cleo Shahateet