Ark Avilon Adventure

Location: Frontera Verde, Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City
Date Visited: January 21, 2012
Travel Time from Cainta: 30 minutes (less if no traffic)

I decided to go back to Ark Avilon this year since the first time we went, my husband was unable to go with me and my daughter. My 6 year old daughter asked if we could visit the zoo this time with Daddy.

We left the house at 11am on a Saturday and headed to Pasig City where Ark Avilon is located. Fortunately, we were able to get a parking space right in front of the zoo. What's so special about this zoo? It's the only interactive mini zoo in the country =) So if your kids are afraid of animals, this is a good spot to overcome their fears!

Ark Avilon entrance

The zoo is quite small compared to the one in Montalban. Entrance fees are as follows;

• Adult - Php 300
• Children 3 feet and above - Php 200 (their measure is the counter, if the child's head does not reach the counter, they get in for free).

Upon entering, the first thing you will see is a souvenir shop where you can also buy food for the various animals inside the zoo. There are vegetables for the mini horses and sheep, fish food for the carps and even chicken heads for the giant Arapaimas (one of the world's biggest freshwater fish).

Souvenir and Animal Feeds Shop

In the first floor alone, we were able to see several animals. The white tiger was my husband's favorite, too bad the big kitty was sleeping!

No interaction for this animal!

In the middle of the area was a small pond full of carps. Beside it was a patch of land with mini trees full of exotic birds! Guests can take photos with the beautiful and colorful parrots, just ask assistance from the friendly staff. If you're feeling adventurous, you can take a photo with the sharp clawed eagles.

Photo collage created using smilebox

Right behind the birds was a hairy little guy named Colin. Colin is an Orangutan and loves to drink orange juice. He's also wearing clothes, shoes and the sweetest smile! Colin is trained to pose with the guests, although my daughter was a bit afraid of Colin, we were able to take a 'family picture';

Colin loves his OJ!

We toured the rest of the area and got to feed the mini horse and see a cute black bear cat walking around. Be careful, you might step on a slithering albino python =)

Various animals children can interact with in Ark Avilon

We headed up the second floor and my daughter's level of excitement increased ten-fold because this was her favorite part of the zoo. The 'bunnies and guinea pigs cage' as she called it. For this part, it's best to have children wear pants, socks and closed shoes. Kids will enter an enclosure full of rabbits and guinea pigs and they will sit on these wooden benches while they feed these cute little critters with skewered carrots.

Cute critter feeding!

The second floor also has several goats and sheep for feeding. The place sells green leafy vegetables that kids can give the animals. Since it was my second time here, I came prepared. I brought our own kangkong from home since it's cheaper. My husband was especially fascinated with the rams because of their horns. My little girl loved feeding the little lamb. The goats keep nudging each other to get to the food. There were even hogs but they liked to sleep than to eat =)

Feeding the sheep, sleepy hogs and cute little lamb

Our stay in Ark Avilon lasted less than 2 hours.They have a snack bar on the second floor but since it was lunchtime when we finished, we opted to eat at the nearby Tiendesitas. If you love the guinea pigs, Ark Avilon sells them as well as a few other animals. I saw the cutest little hedgehog near the exit area;

I guess they really are nocturnal

For more information about Ark Avilon, visit their website here.