Parque Zoológico Nacional — Attraction in Santo Domingo

The Arq. Manuel Valverde Podestá National Zoological Park is a zoological park in the Dominican Republic and one of the largest in Latin America. The National Zoological Park of the Dominican Republic (ZOODOM) arises as an educational necessity for the Dominican Republic.

In 1972, efforts began to be made to create a zoo that would meet the high standards of modernity that the moment required, since by then there was only an old zoo that did not meet the needs of the moment. In September of that same year, the architects Manuel Valverde Podestá and Eugenio Pérez Montás started the work. By November 26, 1974, animals brought from the old zoo such as rhesus monkeys and spiders, vultures, pumas, crocodiles, parrots, macaws, cockatoos, turtles, among others, arrived from the African continent and from the United States.

After this process, on January 3, 1975, Law 114 was promulgated, creating the Dominican National Zoological Park, as a center for the promotion of education, research, and culture, with regard to biological sciences in general, as well as the preservation of the national fauna and on July 5 of the same year it was inaugurated. It was inaugurated on July 5, 1975. Now with the reality, be aware of your surroundings since the zoo was built long ago before the city of Santo Domingo grew that fast and that much it is surrounded by very populous neighborhoods and some times it isn't...

I had read some bad reviews about this zoo and was not expecting to have such a great experience. We LOVED it! Admission is very cheap, there is a lot of shade, and it is organized in such a way that makes it very easy to experience. A train basically takes you uphill along a winding road past every animal exhibit quickly. It then drops you off at the highest altitude of the park so you can walk downhill at your own pace past every exhibit. My 4 and 6 year old both got off the train with excitement and ideas of which animals they wanted to go see!

There is a huge playground at the top of the hill that is colorful and fun. There are several clean bathrooms available.

The animals are in large enclosures that are well maintained and surrounded by natural foliage and landscaping. All of the trees are mature and tall, which made it feel like we were exploring in a jungle! We especially loved the hippopotamuses, the rhinoceroses, the jaguar, the large snakes, the hyena, and the herd of red deer.

We highly recommend this zoo to people...

Zoodom offers a place where you can go on a picnic and/or sightseeing with the family, friends, etc. It has two wide parking lots. The entrance is Rd$150 per adult. You can enter with a picnic basket. There's two small cafeteria and a zoo shop where you can buy souvenirs, hats, caps etc. They have a train that departs every 20 minutes or when full. I wouldn't use the train though because they driver goes too fast for you to take good pictures. I'd advise to go with confortable sneakers so that way you can walk and actually enjoy the trip. Most of the animals here are birds. They have small lions, camels, monkeys, buffalo's, etc.. Missing the elephant. Overall a...