Africam Safari

Mexico PueblaAfricam Safari

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Inaugurated in 1972, Africam Safari is well worth the visit to the Mexican state of Puebla, a three-hour drive from Mexico City. Today this safari park is home to more than 2,500 animals, employs more than 300 people and is considered the biggest zoo in Latin America. Be ready to spend close to three hours visiting Africam and taking wonderful pictures of the King of the Jungle, elephants, giraffes, orangutans, buffalos, aardvarks, ostriches, flamingos, australian parakeets, turtles, snakes, camels, hippopotami, lemurs, llamas, deer, elks, lynxes, panthers, and many more. There are lots of souvenirs you can buy for family and friends. And if you collect t-shirts of the places you visit, my favorite is the fluorescent t-shirt with the legend “Night Tours”. If you wonder where the name Africam comes from, I´ll answer your question, it is the combination of two words- Africa and the first three letters of the founder's last name “Camacho”, and believe me, the story behind Carlos Camacho Espiritú is quite as fascinating as that of Africam. Here are 5 fascinating facts of Carlos Camacho Espiritú legend: HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR- He was born into a humble family with 14 siblings in Puebla, Mexico. His father had a very modest job repairing shoes and Carlos never finished grade school. But this never stopped him and decades later, he would become an extremely successful entrepreneur owning radio stations, a helicopter and a tech company, pharmacies in the U.S.A. and Mexico and, of course, Africam. ILLEGAL ALIEN TO U.S. FORCES AIRCRAFT CAPTAIN- At 16-years old, he migrated to L.A. as an illegal alien pursuing the American Dream. He was deported back to Mexico and a few years later returned to the U.S., completed his military service, earned the rank of Captain, becoming an American citizen and eventually marrying a native Californian, Louise Wardle, with whom he had six daughters and two sons. RADIO ANNOUNCER TO LABORATORY FOUNDER- In L.A., he leased the 2 to 6 a.m. slot of a radio station directed to listeners of Mexican origin. He capitalized on this platform to create “Laboratorios Mayo” specializing in selling medicaments to latin americans. This entrepreneurship would make him wealthy and provide the resources to launch his other businesses. SURVIVE! (Sobrevivientes de los Andes)- He produced 9 films, among them the 1976 thriller, Survive!- “the story of a Uruguayan rugby team that crashes in the Andes Mountains and has to survive the extremely cold temperatures and rough climate. As some of the people die, the survivors are forced to make a terrible decision between starvation and cannibalism” (Wikipedia). FATAL TIGER ATTACK- On the 28th of october of 1976, Captain Carlos Camacho died as a result of injuries sustained by the attack of a tiger, while protecting a family which foolishly got out of the car in Africam.

FlashtennisFlashtennis

Africam Safari (yes Africam with an "m") is a must when visiting Puebla, being -as far as I know- the only open area / drive thru zoo in Mexico. And as such I expected to see all animals in open areas or at least large containment sections, I'll explain later. You start off driving through a path surrounded by different animals, the entrance is beautiful, easy and fairly quick, they even have an app with a map and bluetooth markers throughout the park explaining what you should be seeing as you drive, some animals come really close to your car giving you great photo opportunities. They've designed the park in such a way that you have three or four resting areas with food, gift shops, and bathrooms as you progress through the map, and at the last stop, you park your car and walk through the rest of the zoo, with petting areas and educational signs all over. I truly loved the experience the staff is very friendly and I understand that maintaining a zoo requires a great deal of logistics and investment while they also provide a great educational ground to the community, but the big felines seemed like they were displaying signs of stress, the lions were all walking in a never-ending circle (like 15 to 20 of them), behavior I've never seen in documentaries, you always see them resting in the shade under the hot sun (we were there during the hottest time of the day), I'm not an expert but it felt weird. Then when we saw the two beautiful jaguars and the black panther, they were displaying the same behavior, walking back and forth like a caged animal or just standing and staring into the emptiness, these last three felines were in a very reduced area, it seemed like the turtles had a bigger space. I'm also aware the sometimes these animals might be rescued from circuses or private keepers and these behaviors stay with them for the rest of their lives so I'm not judging the park's capacity or knowledge for keeping these animals, I'm just mentioning what it made me feel.

DiegoDiego

Africam safari was such a wonderful experience! It was $850 pesos ($55 Canadian) for their tour plus entry tickets which was 1.5 hours where they drive you through all the animals and talk about the animals. It was an open roof concept and well worth the money! Then you would switch to a jeep for the lions and some other animals. Absolutely worth doing instead of the $350 pesos tickets to just drive through yourself. Half the park is drive through (either with your car or their tour), other half was a walk through the park on your own. Recommend going Monday Tuesday as that is the slowest days for them, less people which means better photos and better view of the animals. Pets: They do NOT allow pets but they do have an area for individual spaces for dogs so you can leave them there with food and water for the day. However, I do not know how many spaces there are so I do not know if they would run out of the individual spaces for dogs if it is a busy day. Highlights: - They had an area where you could feed the birds seeds on a stick, and they would all fly on your hand and stick to eat. - The butterfly 🦋 area, the butterflies would also fly on you frequently which was absolutely amazing. - They had a jeep built into the lions enclosure with a glass wall in between (front of jeep was in their enclosure and the wheel/seats/back of jeep was on the other side) you could take photos in the jeep while the lions were laying on the front of the jeep. It was really cool to see a lions face right in front of me through the glass wall. - The elephants were so amazing. They had 18 of them when we went. - You can pay for an experience of feeding the giraffes from the open concept car tour they had (we didn't do this, but saw it happen and it looked really fun, they would eat out of your hand, makes some great photo opportunities and close up experience with the giraffes). It was clean, well taken care of, and great people.

ThereysaThereysa

It is what it is. Don’t expect (say) UK levels of animal welfare but I understand that many animals (ie the majority of the carnivores) were rescued from private owners so they’re likely much better off here. My four year old enjoyed herself but then the experience of the human visitors seems to come first (eg the wolf/tiger/lion enclosures are pretty small so rangers can feed them bits of meat for our enjoyment - of course such animals would roam/gorge in the wild). I was confused as to why the rabbits had artificial grass in the petting zoo - not their natural environment - and the park is very reliant on the herbivores (giraffes, camels, oxen, zebras) not biting the fingers of/off kids feeding them. Fortunately, these animals have come up with methods of being fed without injuring us (like opening their mouths for us to pour feed in) but it feels like a disaster looking for someone to happen to. On the other hand the herbivores did have acres of space. The human food is pretty limited/very Mexican (who knew?) so you may want to bring your own. We were made to wait 20-30 mins for the safari ride because they were hoping to get in more visitors before they gave up as the park was pretty empty (it was Dec 31) and their animal pellets markup is pretty larcenous. Signage is also poor. There are no elephants if the elephant in their logo raises your expectation. You always exit through the gift shop of course, even with airport style ropes to ensure you pass by everything. If I go again I’ll wear greenscreen coloured clothes to fight against the incessant photo-taking and hawking (we paid for a package that meant they binned one photo rather than just giving it to us).

Ed WilesEd Wiles

I believe, The best and largest animal reserve in México 🇲🇽🦒🦓🐘🦛🐆has a several habitats, African savannah, American steppes, Tropical jungle, Mexican forest, Tiger lake, Lion territory and walk-through adventure zone. The most interesting experience is the visitors can observe the animals from their own vehicle or the park guided buses in their natural habitat but, ALWAYS you have to stay inside of your vehicle with closed windows to prevent animal attacks. From the moment that you enter to the park you must be prepared for an adventure in Africa. They welcome you with African drum music and the hosts speak to you in an African language you must stay in your car throughout the tour you will really find beautiful animals such as ostriches, giraffes, elephants, white tigers, lions, gorillas, rhinoceros, flamingos, tortugas gigantes! You do not miss the Jaguar zone, kangaroo area, you will love them😍 Rest zone.- Area where visitors are allow leave their vehicle to use park services, restaurant, public toilet, gift shop and snack bar. There are many animals and areas to see, make sure to be prepared to stay for 3-4 hours at least. This is a worthy experience. The love for the animals and their well-being can be seen for all over the park. You have to try the pizza 🍕 in the “Fuego de Leña” 🔥🪵 restaurant. By the way, I am not sponsored by the park.😂 Enjoy your safari and keep safe!🙌🏻

Di DeCorcellesDi DeCorcelles

Both reviews in English and Spanish Excelente, vale la pena ir totalmente. El precio por el boleto sencillo es excelente, los animales están súper bien cuidados y andan libres en cada sección. Recomiendo ir en coche propio si se tiene la oportunidad. Y el costo por una experiencia es alto, pero definitivamente vale la pena, es algo único. Nosotros fuimos con experiencia de jirafas y lémures. - simply amazing, totally worth it. This is a must-go if you are visiting Puebla, you’ll not find here in Mexico another with this quality and care for the animals. They’re free to walk, cross and do whatever they want in the section you are crossing and always is personal around for your safety. If you can pay an upgraded experience it’s totally worth it, we choose two packages and we’re able to feed and pet giraffes and lemurs.

Daniela Franco CastilloDaniela Franco Castillo

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Nearby Restaurants Of Africam Safari

Restaurante Plato Hondo - Africam Safari

4.2

(225)

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Restaurante Fuego de Leña- Africam Safari

4.3

(146)

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Address

Oasis, Carretera al Oasis 17302-22, Blvd. Capitán Carlos Camacho Espíritu Km 16.5, Oasis, 72960 Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, Pue., Mexico

Map

Phone

+52 222 281 7000

Call

Website

africamsafari.com

Visit

Overview

4.6

(15.2K reviews)

adventure

outdoor

family friendly

Description

Africam Safari is a Mexican safari park that was established in 1972 by Captain Carlos Camacho Espíritu. It is about 17 kilometres from the city of Puebla, Mexico. Africam Safari is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Inaugurated in 1972, Africam Safari is well worth the visit to the Mexican state of Puebla, a three-hour drive from Mexico City. Today this safari park is home to more than 2,500 animals, employs more than 300 people and is considered the biggest zoo in Latin America. Be ready to spend close to three hours visiting Africam and taking wonderful pictures of the King of the Jungle, elephants, giraffes, orangutans, buffalos, aardvarks, ostriches, flamingos, australian parakeets, turtles, snakes, camels, hippopotami, lemurs, llamas, deer, elks, lynxes, panthers, and many more. There are lots of souvenirs you can buy for family and friends. And if you collect t-shirts of the places you visit, my favorite is the fluorescent t-shirt with the legend “Night Tours”. If you wonder where the name Africam comes from, I´ll answer your question, it is the combination of two words- Africa and the first three letters of the founder's last name “Camacho”, and believe me, the story behind Carlos Camacho Espiritú is quite as fascinating as that of Africam. Here are 5 fascinating facts of Carlos Camacho Espiritú legend: HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR- He was born into a humble family with 14 siblings in Puebla, Mexico. His father had a very modest job repairing shoes and Carlos never finished grade school. But this never stopped him and decades later, he would become an extremely successful entrepreneur owning radio stations, a helicopter and a tech company, pharmacies in the U.S.A. and Mexico and, of course, Africam. ILLEGAL ALIEN TO U.S. FORCES AIRCRAFT CAPTAIN- At 16-years old, he migrated to L.A. as an illegal alien pursuing the American Dream. He was deported back to Mexico and a few years later returned to the U.S., completed his military service, earned the rank of Captain, becoming an American citizen and eventually marrying a native Californian, Louise Wardle, with whom he had six daughters and two sons. RADIO ANNOUNCER TO LABORATORY FOUNDER- In L.A., he leased the 2 to 6 a.m. slot of a radio station directed to listeners of Mexican origin. He capitalized on this platform to create “Laboratorios Mayo” specializing in selling medicaments to latin americans. This entrepreneurship would make him wealthy and provide the resources to launch his other businesses. SURVIVE! (Sobrevivientes de los Andes)- He produced 9 films, among them the 1976 thriller, Survive!- “the story of a Uruguayan rugby team that crashes in the Andes Mountains and has to survive the extremely cold temperatures and rough climate. As some of the people die, the survivors are forced to make a terrible decision between starvation and cannibalism” (Wikipedia). FATAL TIGER ATTACK- On the 28th of october of 1976, Captain Carlos Camacho died as a result of injuries sustained by the attack of a tiger, while protecting a family which foolishly got out of the car in Africam.

FlashtennisFlashtennis

Africam Safari (yes Africam with an "m") is a must when visiting Puebla, being -as far as I know- the only open area / drive thru zoo in Mexico. And as such I expected to see all animals in open areas or at least large containment sections, I'll explain later. You start off driving through a path surrounded by different animals, the entrance is beautiful, easy and fairly quick, they even have an app with a map and bluetooth markers throughout the park explaining what you should be seeing as you drive, some animals come really close to your car giving you great photo opportunities. They've designed the park in such a way that you have three or four resting areas with food, gift shops, and bathrooms as you progress through the map, and at the last stop, you park your car and walk through the rest of the zoo, with petting areas and educational signs all over. I truly loved the experience the staff is very friendly and I understand that maintaining a zoo requires a great deal of logistics and investment while they also provide a great educational ground to the community, but the big felines seemed like they were displaying signs of stress, the lions were all walking in a never-ending circle (like 15 to 20 of them), behavior I've never seen in documentaries, you always see them resting in the shade under the hot sun (we were there during the hottest time of the day), I'm not an expert but it felt weird. Then when we saw the two beautiful jaguars and the black panther, they were displaying the same behavior, walking back and forth like a caged animal or just standing and staring into the emptiness, these last three felines were in a very reduced area, it seemed like the turtles had a bigger space. I'm also aware the sometimes these animals might be rescued from circuses or private keepers and these behaviors stay with them for the rest of their lives so I'm not judging the park's capacity or knowledge for keeping these animals, I'm just mentioning what it made me feel.

DiegoDiego

Africam safari was such a wonderful experience! It was $850 pesos ($55 Canadian) for their tour plus entry tickets which was 1.5 hours where they drive you through all the animals and talk about the animals. It was an open roof concept and well worth the money! Then you would switch to a jeep for the lions and some other animals. Absolutely worth doing instead of the $350 pesos tickets to just drive through yourself. Half the park is drive through (either with your car or their tour), other half was a walk through the park on your own. Recommend going Monday Tuesday as that is the slowest days for them, less people which means better photos and better view of the animals. Pets: They do NOT allow pets but they do have an area for individual spaces for dogs so you can leave them there with food and water for the day. However, I do not know how many spaces there are so I do not know if they would run out of the individual spaces for dogs if it is a busy day. Highlights: - They had an area where you could feed the birds seeds on a stick, and they would all fly on your hand and stick to eat. - The butterfly 🦋 area, the butterflies would also fly on you frequently which was absolutely amazing. - They had a jeep built into the lions enclosure with a glass wall in between (front of jeep was in their enclosure and the wheel/seats/back of jeep was on the other side) you could take photos in the jeep while the lions were laying on the front of the jeep. It was really cool to see a lions face right in front of me through the glass wall. - The elephants were so amazing. They had 18 of them when we went. - You can pay for an experience of feeding the giraffes from the open concept car tour they had (we didn't do this, but saw it happen and it looked really fun, they would eat out of your hand, makes some great photo opportunities and close up experience with the giraffes). It was clean, well taken care of, and great people.

ThereysaThereysa

It is what it is. Don’t expect (say) UK levels of animal welfare but I understand that many animals (ie the majority of the carnivores) were rescued from private owners so they’re likely much better off here. My four year old enjoyed herself but then the experience of the human visitors seems to come first (eg the wolf/tiger/lion enclosures are pretty small so rangers can feed them bits of meat for our enjoyment - of course such animals would roam/gorge in the wild). I was confused as to why the rabbits had artificial grass in the petting zoo - not their natural environment - and the park is very reliant on the herbivores (giraffes, camels, oxen, zebras) not biting the fingers of/off kids feeding them. Fortunately, these animals have come up with methods of being fed without injuring us (like opening their mouths for us to pour feed in) but it feels like a disaster looking for someone to happen to. On the other hand the herbivores did have acres of space. The human food is pretty limited/very Mexican (who knew?) so you may want to bring your own. We were made to wait 20-30 mins for the safari ride because they were hoping to get in more visitors before they gave up as the park was pretty empty (it was Dec 31) and their animal pellets markup is pretty larcenous. Signage is also poor. There are no elephants if the elephant in their logo raises your expectation. You always exit through the gift shop of course, even with airport style ropes to ensure you pass by everything. If I go again I’ll wear greenscreen coloured clothes to fight against the incessant photo-taking and hawking (we paid for a package that meant they binned one photo rather than just giving it to us).

Ed WilesEd Wiles

I believe, The best and largest animal reserve in México 🇲🇽🦒🦓🐘🦛🐆has a several habitats, African savannah, American steppes, Tropical jungle, Mexican forest, Tiger lake, Lion territory and walk-through adventure zone. The most interesting experience is the visitors can observe the animals from their own vehicle or the park guided buses in their natural habitat but, ALWAYS you have to stay inside of your vehicle with closed windows to prevent animal attacks. From the moment that you enter to the park you must be prepared for an adventure in Africa. They welcome you with African drum music and the hosts speak to you in an African language you must stay in your car throughout the tour you will really find beautiful animals such as ostriches, giraffes, elephants, white tigers, lions, gorillas, rhinoceros, flamingos, tortugas gigantes! You do not miss the Jaguar zone, kangaroo area, you will love them😍 Rest zone.- Area where visitors are allow leave their vehicle to use park services, restaurant, public toilet, gift shop and snack bar. There are many animals and areas to see, make sure to be prepared to stay for 3-4 hours at least. This is a worthy experience. The love for the animals and their well-being can be seen for all over the park. You have to try the pizza 🍕 in the “Fuego de Leña” 🔥🪵 restaurant. By the way, I am not sponsored by the park.😂 Enjoy your safari and keep safe!🙌🏻

Di DeCorcellesDi DeCorcelles

Both reviews in English and Spanish Excelente, vale la pena ir totalmente. El precio por el boleto sencillo es excelente, los animales están súper bien cuidados y andan libres en cada sección. Recomiendo ir en coche propio si se tiene la oportunidad. Y el costo por una experiencia es alto, pero definitivamente vale la pena, es algo único. Nosotros fuimos con experiencia de jirafas y lémures. - simply amazing, totally worth it. This is a must-go if you are visiting Puebla, you’ll not find here in Mexico another with this quality and care for the animals. They’re free to walk, cross and do whatever they want in the section you are crossing and always is personal around for your safety. If you can pay an upgraded experience it’s totally worth it, we choose two packages and we’re able to feed and pet giraffes and lemurs.

Daniela Franco CastilloDaniela Franco Castillo

Africam Safari

Plan your stay

Pet-friendly Hotels in Puebla

Affordable Hotels in Puebla

The Coolest Hotels You Haven't Heard Of (Yet)

Trending Stays Worth the Hype in Puebla

Posts

Nearby Restaurants Of Africam Safari

Restaurante Plato Hondo - Africam Safari

Restaurante Fuego de Leña- Africam Safari

Basic Info

Address

Phone

Website

Duration · 3.5h

Reviews

Overview

Ratings & Description

Description