Aviary, Turned into a Themepark

Last week Chris and I walked to a nearby Ecological Park and noticed a big dome surrounded by water and water birds. We figured that it was an aviary but it was closed on the day that we were there. We said that we wanted to return as it looked like an interesting place.

Until today, we didn’t realize that the aviary had closed and since 2017, it has been a small theme park called Arboterra. It cost us $10.00 each to enter at 11:15 a.m. and we had no clue what it was all about.

But we were early, so we had a coffee in the cozy restaurant overlooking a pond with waterfowl. It was very pleasant.

From what little I read about it, “it is an immersive natural, educational, and conservation-focused theme park located inside Puebla's Parque Ecológico. Designed as an "Arcane Tree" adventure, it offers interactive, story-driven tours aimed at families, highlighting birds, reptiles, and flora.”

We were greeted by Angie, who was dressed in an explorer’s costume and acted as a storyteller. She told us in pretty good English that we could follow the path on our own and if we needed information, she would be there to help us out.

We walked on bridges over the pond and got up surprisingly close to a flamboyance of pink flamingoes. lol. (We learned that word today.)

We passed a waterfall and went in an underground cave to visit some underground creatures, like Mexico’s endangered salamander, the Axolotl, some snakes, moles, etc.

When we came out, we entered the Aviary where there was a peacock with the most beautiful tale. No wonder the Aztecs decorated their headdresses with peacock feathers! Gorgeous.

We were in a jungle and didn’t see many birds except for two Guacamayas,
or macaws, and some doves. But what we saw was a huge fake tree with a hot air balloon caught in its branches. The tree, called an Arcane Tree, was massive and focussed on teaching kids about protecting nature.

The next part of our ‘journey’ was to go up into the 13 m tree into a treehouse and finally into a huge birds nest at the top.

We came down on the other side of the tree and there was info about roots and inside the tree, there was another information room. The whole experience was pretty awesome.

Continuing on, we spotted a Pygmy owl and tortoises.

Then, we went into a dark room that had an interactive surround sound screen and ‘boarded’ a jeep for a ride into a jungle with dinosaurs. The floor tilted and jerked as we avoided stegosauruses and pterodactyls. What a ride. Kids would love it for sure!

Our two hours there was so much fun! We were happy that we came back.

Tonight we are going to the free Symphony Orchestra at 7 pm. We look forward to Friday nights in Puebla.Read more