10 must see Hungarian animal parks and botanical gardens

If you are planning to visit a zoo, a wildlife farm, a national reserve, or a botanical garden in Hungary during the summer period, you have dozens of opportunities to do so all around the county. Itthon.hu listed ten such places worth visiting with your partner, your family, or even alone.

1. Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden

Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden is the oldest and biggest zoo in Hungary, located at the City Park in Budapest. The zoo opened its doors on 9 August 1866. The park has more than 1 million visitors each year. It currently has 1021 animal species.

Photo: facebook.com/zoobudapest

Opened in 2014, Once Upon a Time Park (Holnemvolt Park) is the new family leisure park of the zoo. Besides the various exotic and local mammal and bird species, the majority of indigenous and exotic domestic animals are displayed in the park, which also has various animal petting sites.

Besides the new facilities and new-born animal babies, feeding spectacles, animals brought to the visitors, snake petting, and other programs by the staff of the zoo await to please the public.

Entrance fees:
Adult: 2500 HUF
Child: 1800 HUF

Opening hours:
Monday-Tuesday: 9:00-18:00
Friday-Saturday: 9:00-19:00

2. Nyíregyháza Zoo

The Nyíregyháza Zoo is located 5 km north of Nyíregyháza, Hungary in the Sóstó recreation area which also includes abeach, a spa, a pool, an open air museum, and a wood park.

Photo: MTI

The zoo lies in a natural, almost untouched birch forest. In the 30 hectare area of the zoo, the visitors find themselves in different continents. Who enters can walk along the continents to observe how the animals live in certain parts of the world. The visitors can also have some rest in Hotel Jungle.

Entrance fees:
Child (under 3 years): 100 HUF
Child (3-14 years): 1900 HUF
Student: 1900 HUF
Adult: 2800 HUF
Pensioner: 1900 HUF
Over 70 years: 500 HUF
Disabled person: 1200 HUF

Opening hours from April to August: 9:00 – 19:00 (every day)

3. Kittenberger Kálmán Zoo and Botanical Garden

The Kittenberger Kálmán Zoo and Botanical Garden is located in Veszprém, Hungary. The zoo is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the region, located only 15 kilometres away from Lake Balaton. The zoo offers entertainment for both young – in the Kids Jungle and Vivarium – and elderly visitors.

The zoo consists of two parts, one in the Fejes Valley, the other in the adjacent Gulya Hill. The Fejes Valley Zoo offers visitors a view of traditional zoo animals, including exotic cats, Kamchatka brown bears, water birds, Madagascan lemurs, the Gelada baboons, tapirs, and red pandas.

facebook.com/AllatkertVeszprem

In 2012, new developments were made in the upper part on Gulya Hill, such as the Africa House, the Chimpanzee World, and African Savannah enclosures, where visitors can see zebras, giraffes, and the three members of the rhino family.

The Kittenberger Kálmán Zoo and Botanical Garden, opened on 1 August 1958, was built in five months through the support of community volunteers.

The Zoo bears the name of Kálmán Kittenberger, famous Hungarian Africa traveller, zoologist, hunter, and author.

Entrance fees:
Child (3-18 years):1600 HUF
Student: 1800 HUF
Adult: 2400 HUF
Pensioner: 1600 HUF

Opening hours from May to September: 9:00 – 18:00

4. Budakeszi Wildlife Park

Photo: Linda Suranyi

The Budakeszi Wildlife Park is the perfect place for those in love with nature, animals, and fresh air. It is located in the suburb area of, but it is still very close to Budapest.

The wildlife park is a 350 hectares protected area in the Buda hills. It’s an out-of-town alternative to the Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden, with wild animals (rabbits, deer, foxes, wild boars, wolfs, brown bears, etc.) and farm animals (donkeys, goats, sheep, ducks, etc.) native to Europe and Hungary. There is a petting zoo, a lookout, a play area, and several tracks suitable for hiking.

Entrance fees:
Adult: 1300 HUF
Child (2-14 years): 650 HUF
Student/Pensioner: 850 HUF

Opening hours:
9:00 – 17:00 on weekdays
9:00 – 18:00 on weekends and holidays

5. Szeged Zoo

Photo: facebook.com/szegedivadaspark

The youngest zoo of Hungary has been expecting visitors since 1989. Covering an area of almost 45 hectares, the zoo is one of the the biggest animal territories in the country. It has got a unique animal collection, and it is conducting nature conservation and educational activities.

Visitors can meet more than 600 specimen of about 140 species in the zoo. Among these are such animals as the wolverine, L’Hoest’s monkey, fossa, Alaotran gentle lemur, bat eared fox, North Chinese leopard, lowland anoa, Chinese water deer, silvery marmoset, red-cheeked gibbon, giant anteater, and maned wolf. Of course, no such usual zoo favourites can be omitted from the list as the lion, the slender-tailed meerkat, the Bactrian camel, and the Siberian tiger. Living in modern, natural and spacious exhibits, the animals are presented according to the geographical range of their species.

A special part of the zoo is the Nature Conservation Rescue Centre, which treats almost one thousand injured or orphaned wild animals every year, mostly birds.

Entrance fees:
Adult: 1700 HUF
Child: 1100 HUF
Student/Pensioner: 1250 HUF
Opening hours during the summer period: 9:00 -19:00

6. Veresegyház Bear Farm

The Veresegyház Bear Farm opened its gates in 1998, and is still the only one of this type of animal parks in Central Europe. Covering an area of about 5.5 hectares, the farm has become the home of wolves, racoons, and reindeers as well.

Entrance fees:
Adult: 600 HUF
Child (2-14 years): 500 HUF
Pensioner: 500 HUF
Opening hours: 8:00 – 19:00

7. Böszéna Deer Farm

Bõszénfa, a small village on the slopes of Zselic hill, hosts the Game Management Landscape Center of Kaposvár University. The centre started as an experimental program, however, now it is one of the most important stocks in Central-Europe.
The 1300 hectares land provides habitat for more than 1500 red deer, 300 wild boars, 200 fallow deer, 150 mouflons, and approximately 50 roe deer. The farm also breeds domesticated animals, such as Hungarian grey cattle, racka sheep, pigs, horses, donkeys, goats and water buffalo.
Bõszénfa Deer Farm is unique animal park in Hungary, as game management, crop cultivation, forestry, hunting, game meat processing, and tourism exist within the same geographical unit.

(For getting information about hunting prices and possible opening hours, please visit the English version of the official website of the park: http://szarvasfarm.ke.hu/english/index.php)

8. Kápolnapuszta Buffalo Reserve

Kápolnapuszta Buffalo Reserve is a 30 hectares reserve centre, located in the south-western part of Lake Kis-Balaton, not far from Zalakaros.

The exhibition site plays an important role in the survival and the conservation of genome of the indigenous buffalo in Hungary. Visitors become acquainted with the gentle, coal-black animals on the path supplied with picnic area, an information boards, a lookout tower, and an exhibition on buffalo history. An interactive exhibition displays the flora and the fauna of Kis-Balaton, part of the Balaton Uplands National Park. A car park, a snack-bar and a souvenir shop await the visitors all year round.

Entrance fees:
Adult: 550 HUF
Child (4-14 years): 250 HUF
Opening hours from April to October: 9:00 – 7:00

9. Hortobágy Wild Animal Park

The Hortobágy Wild Animal Park is situated in Hortobágy National Park. This is a perfect place for the demonstration of the ancient Hungarian wildlife.

Related article:
Hortobágy, the Great Hungarian Plain

The Hortobágy Wild Animal Park presents some of the animals that lived here before the appearance of man, but were driven to extinction by the spread of civilization. These animals include wolves, jackals, Przewalski’s Horses, vultures, and pelicans. Visitors can also see other wild animals still living in the protected areas such as wildcats, foxes, polecats, white-tailed eagles, common cranes, and great white egrets. The wildlife park offers programs in which all generations can enjoy various leisure activities.

In addition, the design of the outdoor enclosures offers excellent opportunities for photographers.

Entrance fees:
Adult: 1500 HUF
Child (3-18 years): 700 HUF
Opening hours from April to October: 10:00 – 18:00

10. Lake Tisza Ecocentre

Lake Tisza Ecocentre, located in Poroszló, is a new touristic entertainment centre.

The new touristic complex was erected to collect and display the amazing nature and wildlife of the River Tisza valley and the second largest lake in Hungary Lake Tisza. It was opened to the public in 2012.

Photo: facebook.com/pages/Tisza-tavi-%C3%96kocentrum-Poroszl%C3%B3/151571411570617

The eco centre is the largest freshwater aquarium system in Europe: the capacity of the giant aquarium is 535 000 litres in itself, the underwater tunnel is seven metres long and weighs more than 4.5 tons.

The main building is surrounded by a leisure park covering seven hectares. This part of the complex is not only a zoo with such indigenous animals like golden jackals, traditional Hungarian sheep, storks, cormorants, or pelicans, but it is a kind of an amusement park with many facilities for families and kids including playing grounds, one of them offering an opportunity for funny rafting on wooden boats.

Entrance fees:
3D package for junior (between ages 3-18) and senior (above age 62) guests: 1990 HUF
3D package for adults: 2290 HUF
Ecocentre basic package for junior and senior guests: 1590 HUF
Ecocentre basic package for adults: 1890 HUF
Boat trip package for junior and senior guests: 2290 HUF
Boat trip package for adults: 2790 HUF
All-in package for junior and senior guests: 2490 HUF
All-in package for adults: 2990 HUF
Opening hours from April to November: 9:00 – 17:00

based on the article of itthon.hu
translated by Gábor Hajnal

Source: itthon.hu