525Reviews12Q&A
Reviews
Traveler rating
- 326
- 158
- 31
- 5
- 5
Traveler type
Time of year
Language
More
Selected filters
- Filter
- English
Popular mentions
+1
When I read that the zoo in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, had been called, back in 1979, “The Best Zoo in Latin America,” I knew I had to pay it a visit. And I was not disappointed. Zoológico Regional Miguel Álvarez del Toro, affectionately known as ZOOMAT, struck me as quite unusual, first because every single one of its 1600 animals is native to Chiapas. Then there is its location. Most zoos I’ve seen look as if their architects started with a flat, featureless plot of ground which was then landscaped. Here in Chiapas, however, you have jungle everywhere and it appears they chose one of their finest tropical forests, put in paths, and transformed it into a zoo so beautiful that a walk through it would be utterly delightful even if you never saw a single animal. A third thing I really like about this zoo is that many of its inhabitants are not behind fences or walls at all, but run about just as free as the visitors. Fortunately, there are plenty of signs reminding people to stay on the walkways at all times, and the result is that you are quite likely to discover, all by yourself, creatures you have never seen or heard of before, such as the endangered Guatemalan black howler monkey or the critically endangered guaqueque or Mexican agouti, a rabbit-sized rodent with a big black rump, which I bumped into over and over. Then again, you might find yourself suddenly engulfed by a whole family of noisily chatting chachalaca birds crossing your path on their way to who knows where, clearly letting you know that it is they who own this place while you are merely a guest. Chiapas has one of the greatest diversities of wildlife in the Americas, with more than 700 species of birds, 50 species of mammals and more than 200 of reptiles. It’s famous for its species of regional fauna such as wild boars, black jaguars, toucans, macaws and of course quetzals, all of which you can see in this zoo. And let’s not forget the nocturnal animals: ZOOMAT certainly hasn’t. To see them in semi-darkness, you first step into a dimly lit room where you are asked to do nothing for a while so your eyes can adjust to the dark. Then you are asked to keep silence as you enter a long, wide tunnel with window after window giving you a rare opportunity to observe animals like the tepezcuintle (lowland paca), the martucha (kinkajou or honey bear), the cacomixtle (ringtail) and, of course, murciélagos, bats, all doing their thing in the murky twilight. ZOOMAT is open Tuesday to Sunday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. That is not a typo: it closes unusually early because the path is 2.5 kilometers long and getting everyone out must be quite a challenge. On top of that, the tall trees and dense foliage bring darkness well before sunset. So, if you would like to be among ZOOMAT’s 450,000 yearly visitors, I suggest you go there as early as possible and psychologically prepare yourself for spending most of the day within its boundaries. After all, if you dedicate only four minutes to visiting each of the zoo’s 80 attractions, that alone would take over five hours.…
Read more
Date of experience: November 2019
Helpful
I came here because everyone was telling me I should visit and I left heartbroken. The animals are being held in very small enclosures and they didn't seem healthy at all.
Read more
Date of experience: July 2018
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Its a great place where animales live inside of their natural habitat. Saw a review where they talk about spiders.. well I never saw one in my almost 3 hr walk. Place isnt Sea World or so ... so dont expect the place to be that friendly for people with any kind leg issues or walking impairment... as some paths arent flat.. so you will do some exercise there. Also.. as its not Sea World you wont find staff supervising people... or guiding them ...and well u will find most of visitors with a lack of education treating the animals like if they were dogs (whistling at them trying to get them near and silly stuff like that) Stuff like this you will find a lot... but just ignore that and enjoy the view. Its very well organized with signals as they marked a path with animal paws to guide you... of all the animals i was amazed to see was the quetzal.. coralillo snake.. and jaguars! Black Jaguar (Panther) likes to walk around near where people is watching so we had an amazing view. Place also needs a little bit of maintenance.. some windows where kinda dusty so it also makes some animals hard to see. …
Read more
Date of experience: December 2018
Helpful
I loved this zoo for two main reasons. The first is that for the most part the animals live in naturalistic enclosures, not cages [yes, this did occasionally prevent me from seeing some animals]. The second was that I enjoyed watching human animals, i.e. Mexican extended families, in their natural habitat.…
Read more
Date of experience: October 2017
Helpful
This was a spare of the moment visit as the sumidero was closed as it was Tuesday. A great three hours of walking around looking at the well cared for animals. But! A word of advice if you have a spider phobia. They are everywhere. I am amazed no one has mentioned it in any other review. Unfortunately this tainted my visit as there were huge spiders hanging in webs everywhere you look. Yes I’m in the jungle, no I don’t expect them to fumigate. It’s just I wasn’t ready for it and actually cried :) but no one’s fault, at one with nature and all!…
Read more
Date of experience: September 2018
Helpful







