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Bioparque Ukumarí is a huge nature complex just outside Pereira in Colombia’s Coffee Region. It houses all of the animals from the old Matecaña City Zoo in Pereira, which closed in mid-2015.
Introduction to Bioparque Ukumarí
Bioparque Ukumarí is a work in progress. The zoo is the only section of the park that’s currently open to visitors, and even that isn’t complete at the moment. Five different habitats are planned: Andean Forest, African Savanna, Amazon Rain Forest, Caribbean, and Asia. For our three visits so far (October 2016, August 2021, and June 2024), only the Andean Forest and African Savanna have been open.
When complete, in addition to the zoo, Bioparque Ukumarí will have 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.
Getting to Bioparque Ukumarí
To get to Bioparque Ukumarí, you can take a taxi from Pereira directly to the park or hop on 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, the park has complimentary vans operating between the service station and the park but we never saw one during our walks to or from the park.
Visiting Bioparque Ukumarí
The ticket booth sits next to the parking lot. Tickets are COP$30,000 for children and COP$40,000 for adults (as of July 2024). Check the official website for more info.
Main Entrance
From there, visitors walk through the main entrance to a small square 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. 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, baboons, chimpanzees, 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. The hippo section was ready for our third visit.
Noah’s Ark
The temporary section, named Noah’s Ark, houses lots of animals awaiting the construction of their habitats. The animals on display include deer, boars, buffalo, and a few other species. At the end is a suspension bridge through a natural wetland. It leads back to the main square at the entrance.
Our Thoughts on Bioparque Ukumarí
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 and third trips, 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.
