zoológico nacional la aurora

it may have been nice, but we went few times in a taxi and yuk yuk to find it closed. We were given wrong information on opening times and opening days. Could not check online cos of lack of Internet service.

OK, time for another cup of coffee (the coffee is fantastic here) and a Tripadvisor review FROM Guatemala where I live. (Beep, beep, beep) Let down alert...... If you are a Busch Gardens veteran, this zoo is almost not worth the visit. The animals are pedestrian, bored and ho hum. Two steps above a circus menagrie. (Yeah, I know I cant spell have no english spell check but I do have these Ñ, ¡ and ¿...HA! The facilities are about what one might expect at a minor zoo in western Canada but without bison. There are prairie dogs and swimming 600-pound horse-hogs with mini elephantian nose trunks. Crazy! And if you are lucky, they poop an orange froath (sp?) while swimming. Gross, I know, but there are natural and unnatural preditors nearby and my Internet is working today so you get the vivid treatment.. The zoo is one step above a derrilect roadside dinosaur-themed minature golf course but without T rex or putters. More likelyyou will find a photo hustling Barney sweltering in the intense Central American sun. The penguins are super-popular (they poop in the water too) Montezumas revenge is an equal opportunity afflictor. DoÑt eat the raw sardines. There are some rough looking indigenous ferral hogs that would at leas give you a startle in the dense Maya jungle if a reason to change your Depends. For cat lovers, you know who you are, worth the price of admission, my favorite exhibit is the Jaguars. Jungle god of the Maya and for good reason. Jaguars are much bigger than you imagine. The all black male never stops moving in or along the fresh water moat. There are bigger cats at the park. Tigers, puma, lynxes, leopards there too but they lay around like the lions. Captive foreigners waiting for their rations and dreaming of the stupid llamas. But the Jaguar (ONLY 250 lbs of pure prize fighter muscle) never stops pacing. I like the boxer image. From a distance he looks like a welterweight, cut and rippled but he weights fifty pounds more than Mike Tyson in his best shape. It could be his nature (Jaguar not Tyson) or it could be that he can small forty little sprout eating deer like animals not thirty yards away. That is three bounds in Jaguar talk. It must be wierd for him there just on the other side of meat. Some waiting for the bus others swishing flies with their coquetish tails. The Jaguar swims well too! You can run but you cant hide turtles, snakes and swimming horse-hogs. Pace on brother, enjoy your life in the leeside of a Jaguar Burger King. If you, gentle reader, could take down one of these badboys with a spear in the jungle you should be chief! While fantasizing of ancient Maya hunting parties, you can hear and smell the R40 bus jalopy pass by on the other side of the zoos high concrete wall. This "park" is in the city after all and a half-a-day's hunting party walk from the airport. I do not make these remarks as criticisms just simple experience. TIP alert: It seems there is more anmal activity in the closing hours or late in the day. Maybe you will get lucky and see the porrupines stir or as everyone wants to see, but may not admit on Tripadvisor, get jiggy. It cost about five bucks to get in and I don't know what the parking costs as I arrive (everywhere) by the R40 bus. I don't recommend the bus to readers. There is a very profitable and not terrible food court at the zoo. You can buy a Whopper and toss it to the lonely sleeping bear or if you are really deviant, a sleeve of onion rings for the baboons. They will fight for them. (Male baboon vs Jaguar...I am in). They have been in Guatemala too long. And of course, if you buy a slice of droopy, drippy pizza that will set you back another few bucks, listen for "No bargain$$$ for you, gringo, or for anyone for that matter!" the overworked prefabbed pizza Nazi-dethawer might bark. On balance, The zoo's food court is proabably more popular than the animal exhibits. So why even go? (where is that crazy upside down question mark key.....there you are ¿) The reason to go to the Aurora zoo is to see THE PEOPLE. Definately worth the five bucks and totally safe. It is a people watchers paradise. After all, why are you even in Guatemala if you are not a card-carrying people watcher? (Sorry) I meant "¿" Guatemalans are not monolithic. There are about thirty ethnicities and cultures in the Republic. The cultural oasis is this silly zoo. They come from all regions and make the zoo a must see for them because of the water pooping and food court, not in the necesarily in the same area. I generally find Guatemalans interesting to watch wherever I am and the zoo is probably my favorite observation blind. The beautiful indigenous women from the altiplano (highlands some half dozen hours away) are rare birds themselves There are cowboy in tight jeans and rediculously pointed boots strutting along eating ice cream with their overweight wives and Coke swilling whiney children. And when a Guatemalan family heads out for a day at the zoo, everybody comes along Heck even the zoo parking lot is interesting. You might see nine or ten people unpack from a 1982 Toyota Cornolla. All smiles and excitement. Come on grandma, you look maaarvelous.They casually stroll or roll around the zoo hand in hand surrounding grandpas wheel chair with their equally beautiful children ignoring the well written animal bios in front of the exhibits. These women are simply enjoying a day off from work and the familys companionship. The husbands are most likely in a long line at the eatery buying a big gulp. Done. I have to go to class. NO coffee? NO review says this coffee Nazi. Go to the zoo you crazy closeted people watcher.

Over the years we have always liked to take our children. The animals were always so lively and each visit we saw animals do extraordinary things. In the US the animals almost seem drugged compared to the ones at La Aurora. The remodeling a few years ago made it really attractive.

This is a good option when you are in Guatemala, specially if you are with family. the site is in a very well condition and you have some options for lunch and snacks.

small nice zoo i was expecting a bigger zoo but it was a good day there was a little train you could ride around with children and it takes you around certain parts of the zoo. They have a good variety of animals some i had never even heard off. overall it was decent.

I have been with my family on several occasions.The kids never get tired of seeing all the animalsand laughing at the monkeys when they mimicktheir gestures.Really fair admission fee and ample parking too.

We drove from Ahuachapán, El Salvador, myself and 2 Salvadoran friends, to Parque Zoológico La Aurora, Ciudad de Guatemala (about 3 hours). This is a very well-maintained zoo, both for the animals and the visitors. It seemed very popular on a Sunday but once we got inside, it did not seem crowded. The grounds are immaculate and there was a nice selection of food just inside the entrance. We were there in January and the weather was perfect--70s and dry. There was a nice selection of animals from around the world in well-maintained, spacious enclosures. I particularly enjoyed the "native animals"--jaguars, panthers, birds of prey and colorful tropical birds, The zoo has a popular exhibit of Penguins from Chile.Ciudad de Guatemala is the largest city in Central America, and it is somewhat tough to navigate without a GPS. I was astounded at its modernity, with wide tree-lined avenues, luxury car dealers and numerous luxury condos/apartments. Quite a surprise.If you are in the capital with time, this is a great zoo! The entrance fee was 30 Quetzales,

What a great way to spend an afternoon with the family.Strolling through the zoo at your leisure and watching the kids have an enjoyable time. Their favorite location is infront of the monkeys where they are entertained for sometime.

This beautiful zoo was built over a century ago and has been remodeled several times.Unlike many zoos around the World where you need to take a 2-day tour to enjoy the entire park, La Aurora Zoo is small and very enjoyable! All you need is just a few hours to see it all!

Not too big and not to small....just right.You can easily spend 3 houres leisurelywandering through the different venues.Nice way to spend an afternonn with a goodselection of animals, reptiles and birds thatall looked pretty well taken care of.