The Amazonas Park is a private zoo in the northeast of the island of Crete. The focus of the zoo is on animals from South America, especially parrots and monkeys. There are also some domestic animals like donkeys and goats.
The Amazonas Park was opened in 2011 and has since enjoyed increasing popularity. During the season, several hundred visitors arrive daily at the animal park. Some companies offering day trips by bus have also included the largest zoo in Crete in their program. The parking lot opposite the entrance is often filled in summer.
What to see in the Amazonas Park?
In many aviaries (large bird enclosures), you can see parrots from Latin America and cockatoos from Australia. One aviary in the Amazonas Park is particularly big, housing the larger parrot species.
In several parts of the zoo are monkeys, most from Latin America and Madagascar. Probably the largest attraction in the Amazonas Park is a very large enclosure with monkeys and goats. Visitors of the zoo can walk in. One monkey species is the well-known Barbary apes from Gibraltar, which behave relatively quietly. The other smaller monkeys are very active, jumping on the shoulders of the visitors. If another person is nearby, they jump from person to person. They are fed by a nice and informative animal keeper with bananas.
Especially kids love the donkeys in the Amazonas Zoo. Also, the plants in the Amazonas Park, like palm trees and flowers, are beautiful and interesting.
What is the purpose of the Amazonas Park?
The main function is the rearing and reproduction of rare species (especially parrots), which are threatened with extinction. For many of these birds, the warm climate in Crete is ideal. In addition, most parrots live in South America in the mountains. The Amazonas Park on Crete is 500 meters above sea level.
Many parrots in the zoo come from an animal park in Switzerland. The climate in the south of Greece is much better for birds from the tropics than in Central Europe. Some rare parrots have already been released in their homelands after their reproduction in the Amazonas Park on Crete. The large breeding station of the birds in the Amazonas Park cannot be entered by visitors for obvious reasons.
Is the visit worthwhile?
We think, despite the up to 10 Euro entrance fee, yes. It is the only zoo in Crete. The Amazonas Park is very clean and well-maintained. The staff is very nice and answers any question. The owner, a young man from Luxembourg with Portuguese descent, has built the Amazonas Park without any help from the government of Greece. He wants to save species from South America on Crete from extinction.
Opening hours of Amazonas Park Neapoli (Crete)
The zoo in Crete is open from 10 am to 6 pm. The opening times are the same at the weekend. In winter, the Amazonas Park is closed for visitors (approximately from early November to late March).
