ARK AVILON Interactive Zoo for the Family

ARK AVILON

It had been our practice to visit a museum, zoo, or historical site wherever we needed to travel to attend to something. That had been our custom since we are traveling with kids. It’s an opportunity for them to learn.

Since the kids like animals, we chose ARK AVILON located at Frontera Verde, Ortigas Avenue corner C-5, Pasig City because it was nearest the place we were staying. To us, it was okay, but for our kids, the trip there was amazing.

Ark Avilon Fees

Regular Entrance Rate : P 500.00/person
Below 3.5 Feet: P 300.00/person
During our visit, we chanced upon their promo rate of P350 per person. But they counted everyone, including our 2-year-old. No discount there. Check their FB page from time to time for available discounts. If you are going to have special encounters with the animals like feeding and photo sessions, separate fees apply.

Where is ARK AVILON?

Frontera Verde, Ortigas Avenue corner C-5, Pasig City
(02) 706 2992

ARK AVILON is the only indoor interactive zoo in the Philippines. What makes it look fun is that the entire building is designed like the Noah’s Ark in the Bible. The main attraction of Ark Avilon is that it gives guests the opportunity to interact with various animals.

Except for the wild animals that are kept behind shock-proof glass cager, guests can pet the friendly ones like the birds, the python, goats, and bunnies. Kids can enjoy feeding rabbits, guinea pigs, tortoises, bear cats, sheep, and other farm animals on the second floor, which they call the FARMLAND. Feeding each animal entails a fee so you have the option to omit them in your tour. In our case, we wouldn’t pass up the chance to feed the bunnies, so we shelled out P50 for a carrot on a stick.

Photos while handling some animals are also allowed but it is also for a fee because a staff needs to assist you in arranging the photo shoot. You can also choose the ones you like. We chose to have pictures with the birds because we already have several encounters with a python.

But perhaps the most enjoyable encounter that the kids had was with Venus the Bornean Orangutan. She was an amusing and highly entertaining animal. She seemed to like the fact that she had visitors, as we were the only ones with her that time. The kids can never forget the experience that my eldest daughter even wrote about her in her journal. Yeah, a two-page entry all about Venus.

It is the aim of the management that people learn about conservation in a fun setting. In my case though, I felt that the big animals in the glass cages looked sad and parched. Maybe they just wanted to resemble the insides of an ark, but I really think their cages could use some vegetation. But then again, I’m no expert.

The entire tour of the place including the activities could at most take two hours. It is not really much and it can get pretty hot on the second floor especially under the midday sun. But for kids, it is a worthwhile trip. I honestly found the entrance fees rather steep, especially that it’s a small place, but well, if the money goes to conservation and the further study of animals, I will not object.