During this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, many places here in PV have closed or reduced their hours.
This has disappointed many people because they couldn’t go to the beach, or to the river, or their favorite restaurant. And I was sad, too, having to stay home and miss out on all the great places to go in the Vallarta area. But some of these places have opened back up, and I was so happy to see the Zoologico de Vallarta located near the town of Mismaloya has reopened.
I hadn’t gone in a long time, and I have been wanting to go see what’s new at the zoo. It is about a 45 minute beautifully scenic drive along the coast to get there, passing some long sandy beaches and some places where ocean meets cliff. When you get to the Barcelo Resort, which is on the right, go up a road directly on the left and follow it up through the town of Mismaloya and beyond, and you will find the zoo in just a few short minutes on the left. Parking is free and plentiful, and if you get there early you might find a shady spot.
The entrance is a snack and gift shop, where you can refresh and munch as you choose your zoo package. They are accepting one group at a time, and you will have to go through their sanitation process as they are being extra careful considering the health of their animals. Basic admission is only pesos, or you can purchase a package that includes a session with baby animals. You might get to pet a baby lion, tiger, or jaguar, a monkey or a lemur. Make sure to purchase at least one bag of vegetables and pellets to feed the animals as you wander through the zoo, they are only 50 pesos and well worth it.
As you step outside there is a huge spouting fountain, but don’t put your hand in it, it’s full of snapping turtles.
The path leads uphill and while doable, to be fair, it is a little steep for wheelchairs. Just know it ahead of time and bring a muscular pusher. You will pass a baboon and some crocodiles before you come to the bottom of the big cat enclosures. They are quite large enclosures but usually you will be able to see African lions and black and patterned jaguars. Next is a big pond with ducks, fishes, turtles, and flamingos, surrounding an island of spider monkeys. On the other side of the path are some curious emus, large tortoises, and huge antelopes. Up ahead are whitetail deer, a hungry hippo, a group of zebras, a bunch of bunnies, tropical birds and black swans.
Then you come to the Canadian wolf enclosure and a North American mountain lion. Pass by some peacocks and ponies to see the giraffe. If you offer him a carrot he will extend his super long black tongue and delicately grasp the carrot from your hand. Next you will come to some smaller baboons and a few varied birds. Just up the hill are parrots and other birds, some more large cats, more monkeys, some rams, and a couple of friendly bears.
Then you will see more baboons, but smaller, and to the right plenty of birds including turkeys, and to the left it will take you to some more parrots. Then you will see goats and donkeys, a camel, big elephant statues, and youll come to the snack place. Then there is some birds, some spider monkeys, some ram goats, and two bears. One is a female and one a male. Then there are many animals in glass boxes including hawks, eagles, owls, raccoons, sankes, kikachus. And there are deer below you. Then there are llamas and bores, and then pigs, and then big fat pigs. And then at the end a capybara.