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Bioparque Ukumarí is a huge nature complex just outside Pereira in Colombia’s Coffee Region. When finished, it will have a zoo, a veterinary center, nature museum, anthropology museum, aquarium, 4D attractions, interactive games, and nature-related extreme sports. It will be the largest complex of its kind in Latin America.
The zoo is the only section of the park that’s currently open to visitors. It houses all of the animals from the old Matecaña City Zoo in Pereira, which closed in mid-2015. The complex will consist of five different habitats: Andean Forest, African Savanna, Amazon Rain Forest, Caribbean, and Asia.
For our two visits so far (October 2016 and August 2021), only the Andean Forest and African Savanna have been open. In August 2021, there was also a temporary section housing animals that do not yet have their habitats ready.
Entrance
The ticket booth sits just outside the parking lot. Tickets cost COP$28,000 for children and COP$38,000 for adults (as of October 2023).
From there, visitors walk through the main entrance where there are several food trucks, a gift shop, and a food court. There are also several dinosaur statues.
The food court has a handful of different restaurants to choose from. There’s plenty of traditional Colombian food to be found as well as fast foods like fried chicken and burgers.
Andean Forest
After passing through the entrance, the Andean Forest section sits to the left. On our first visit, about ⅓ of the attractions weren’t ready, but it was 100% complete for our second visit. We were able to see otters, spectacled bears, tapirs, pumas, ocelots, and foxes.
There’s also an enclosed section where visitors can get up close and personal with exotic birds such as parrots, toucans, peacocks, and other species, as well as a couple monkey habitats.
African Savanna
Next is the African Savanna. I was happy to see that the pens holding the animals were much more spacious than most other zoos I had visited. I was also impressed with the concrete work done to create formations depicting African trees and giant boulders. It’s clear a lot of money was invested in this project.
In the African section, we were able to see ostriches, zebras, antelope, lions, rhinos, and wildebeest.
On our first visit, the elephants were still getting acclimated to their new surroundings. Other animals, including a giraffe, had settled in long before our second visit.
There were also more habitats under construction, most notably the hippo section. The hippos were being held in the temporary section (see below).
Temporary Section
The temporary section housed lots of animals awaiting the construction of their habitats. We reached it after a long walk at the end of the African Savanna, crossing a suspension bridge through a natural wetland. The animals on display included hippos, deer, boars, and a few other species.
Thoughts?
Overall, Marisol and I were impressed with what we saw on both our trips to Bioparque Ukumarí. On our first trip, our nephew David was happy to see all the animals (and eat ice cream), and on our second trip, our son Matteo was excited to see animals for the first time in real life.
When completed, it’s obvious that this park will rival the best in Latin America, including the Cali Zoo. I look forward to returning in the future to see the progress and visit the new attractions.
Getting There
To get to Bioparque Ukumarí, you can take a taxi from Pereira directly to the park or any Pereira city bus heading towards La Virginia. If taking the bus, get off at the Santa Barbara service station, cross the highway, and follow the road to the park. It’s about a 10 to 15 minute walk.
Supposedly, Ukumarí has complimentary vans operating between the service station and the park but we never saw one during our walks to or from the park.
