Zoologico de San Martin
Zoologico de San Martin
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4.0
207 reviews
Excellent
75
Very good
80
Average
39
Poor
4
Terrible
9
CFEIII
Center, TX5,774 contributions
Mar 2024 • Solo
I found the zoo to be very interesting, lots of different birds of prey, parrots, a variety of monkeys. It is a little tough to take quality pictures of the animals due to the fencing used, but still it was very interesting to see. I thought the zoo was very clean, without the smell normally found in association with this many animals, as a tip, I was there mid morning and the animals were up and about and viewable
Written 21 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jroihl
Cambridge, MA1,751 contributions
Aug 2014 • Couples
First you can't beat the cab fare of $1.50 to get there. Admission is $2.50 per adult.
The zoo gives a good cross section of Ecuadoran animals including panther, tapir, peccari, ocelot , numerous birds including condor etc. All information was I Spanish which was disappointing.
For the benefit of any mobility challenged, there are many stairs, and hills , and uneven ground in several places.
There are beautiful vistas of the Rio Pastaza and valley below.
There is a concession with food and tables and also a souvenir and handicraft shop and bathrooms at 2 sites.
If you find the review helpful, please indicate below. Thank you.
The zoo gives a good cross section of Ecuadoran animals including panther, tapir, peccari, ocelot , numerous birds including condor etc. All information was I Spanish which was disappointing.
For the benefit of any mobility challenged, there are many stairs, and hills , and uneven ground in several places.
There are beautiful vistas of the Rio Pastaza and valley below.
There is a concession with food and tables and also a souvenir and handicraft shop and bathrooms at 2 sites.
If you find the review helpful, please indicate below. Thank you.
Written 21 August 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
amgvvas111
Brisbane, Australia15 contributions
Oct 2019
The zoo is walking distance from Banos and worth a visit. Lots of birds and animals and nice views. The monkeys was very playful and put on a show for us.
Written 27 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
And B
Calgary, Canada7 contributions
Dec 2017 • Couples
The facilities are too small for some of the animals and birds, especially the eagles, condors, bears and large cats. It was sad to see the condor walking in circles in a small enclosure. Also very sad to see a big tiger and bear pacing back and forth in small enclosures. These animals need more space. Some visitors were banging on the glass of animal enclosures, throwing garbage into the animal enclosures and trying to feed the animals, and there were no staff anywhere stopping this behaviour. The only staff we saw were collecting fees at the entrance. We didn't see anyone caring for the welfare of the animals or correcting this behaviour.
Written 2 January 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
elt1091
London, UK192 contributions
Mar 2019 • Couples
We don't normally go to foreign zoos as I've heard the care of the animals is usually upsetting but after reading the positive reviews on TripAdvisor it sounded like a good one so we gave it a go and I really wish we didn't.
Firstly, the lay out of the zoo is terrible. It's full of dead ends so you end up going back on yourself and the map given out to visitors is not clear and almost useless.
There are a lot of steps and steep hills. This place is definitely not suitable for prams/wheelchairs/anyone with walking difficulties. Some areas are rocky and hard to walk on, others have very smooth stone that's quite easy to slip on.
We made the mistake of going here on a bank holiday so it was incredibly busy and the paths are so narrow we were constantly waiting for people to stop taking photos or just move so we could get past.
Now for the animals - the majority if them had very sad looking homes with very little space. A lot of the birds had no room to fly. Some of the fences were low enough for children to easily reach over and touch the animals, one of the Tapir enclosures consisted of a tiny triangle grass patch for two fully grown tapirs that were standing with their backs to the wall, obviously not wanting to come anywhere near the people as they were afraid.
Some of the animals are behind grid cages big enough to fit your hand through and we saw a girl touching a spider monkey. There was a severe lack of staff/zoo keepers around to ensure things like this didn't happen and the animals are kept at a safe distance from visitors.
The absolute worst thing I saw here was the white tiger enclosure. Two white tigers are being kept in a concrete enclosure which is clearly nowhere near big enough for them, it has an open top with caged ceiling for visitors to look through and one small wall of windows which people are constantly pressed up against. We witnessed one of the tigers do a running jump at the people looking through this window. People obviously found this hilarious but the tiger is clearly distressed and sick of the constant attention with nowhere in the enclosure for it to go and hide. I noticed paw prints all over the window so its something the tigers are doing regularly through distress.
A lot of the animals here we have seen in the wild throughout our travels in South America so it was even more of a shame to see them in such poor conditions.This zoo is very touristy and seems to care more about making money from the tourists than actually looking after their animals. The zoo is split into two parks with two entrance fees. We didn't bother going to the other one as I didn't want to see anymore. If you love animals please don't go here, you'll regret it.
Firstly, the lay out of the zoo is terrible. It's full of dead ends so you end up going back on yourself and the map given out to visitors is not clear and almost useless.
There are a lot of steps and steep hills. This place is definitely not suitable for prams/wheelchairs/anyone with walking difficulties. Some areas are rocky and hard to walk on, others have very smooth stone that's quite easy to slip on.
We made the mistake of going here on a bank holiday so it was incredibly busy and the paths are so narrow we were constantly waiting for people to stop taking photos or just move so we could get past.
Now for the animals - the majority if them had very sad looking homes with very little space. A lot of the birds had no room to fly. Some of the fences were low enough for children to easily reach over and touch the animals, one of the Tapir enclosures consisted of a tiny triangle grass patch for two fully grown tapirs that were standing with their backs to the wall, obviously not wanting to come anywhere near the people as they were afraid.
Some of the animals are behind grid cages big enough to fit your hand through and we saw a girl touching a spider monkey. There was a severe lack of staff/zoo keepers around to ensure things like this didn't happen and the animals are kept at a safe distance from visitors.
The absolute worst thing I saw here was the white tiger enclosure. Two white tigers are being kept in a concrete enclosure which is clearly nowhere near big enough for them, it has an open top with caged ceiling for visitors to look through and one small wall of windows which people are constantly pressed up against. We witnessed one of the tigers do a running jump at the people looking through this window. People obviously found this hilarious but the tiger is clearly distressed and sick of the constant attention with nowhere in the enclosure for it to go and hide. I noticed paw prints all over the window so its something the tigers are doing regularly through distress.
A lot of the animals here we have seen in the wild throughout our travels in South America so it was even more of a shame to see them in such poor conditions.This zoo is very touristy and seems to care more about making money from the tourists than actually looking after their animals. The zoo is split into two parks with two entrance fees. We didn't bother going to the other one as I didn't want to see anymore. If you love animals please don't go here, you'll regret it.
Written 4 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Traveler1549
New York City, NY7 contributions
May 2018 • Family
The zoo was big and with a variety of animals we have never seen before. It shows the animals behaving in their habitat as each of them have a huge space assigned for them. By the parking lot there is another area like aquarium where you can hang a snake of your neck. Yuck! It takes over an hour to see everything but you cant even feel it because is so interesting!
Written 24 May 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Don84101
American Fork, UT48 contributions
Jan 2017 • Family
On vacation in Banos for two weeks. We decided to go to the zoo. WOW and double WOW is all I can say. This zoo has the most breathtaking views high up in the mountain tops. It is not wheel chair friendly but is for a nice moderate active walk. It is steep in some places but worth the exercise. We are over 60 years old and it was doable. Bring water. The zoo looks like walking distance from the Banos town center but believe me, it is a rather long cab ride. Cost $1.50 to $2.5 by cab for a family of 4. The best parts was also he most difficult to walk to..the Galapagos Tortoises are HUGE! The monkeys are always wanting you to break the rules. they want your water and they will break your heart if you do not give them you snacks. The was this little rodent creature that was sort of scary. He would rush the cage as you walked up...just when you think he was going to break out of the cage he would place his back against the fence and let you scratch his back. Such a funny guy and certainly ranks a 10 on any scale of cuteness. He scratched his back for 30 minutes until the next group took our place. Very god visit and well worth the admission price of a couple of dollars.
Written 20 February 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David M
44 contributions
May 2016 • Business
There are two halves of one zoo here, each with a separate entrance and fee. The one side (on the right as you drive in) is worth 4 stars. It has happy animals and a great variety of local animals. The only major complaints is that the paths are quite dangerous when it is wet, which happens quite frequently in Baños. They are made of irregular rocks and they have steep Hills at times.
The other half of the zoo, the aquarium/non Ecuadorian animals, is pretty bad. The fish and reptile exhibits look like you're in a bad pet shop that doesn't clean the aquariums too often. What is really upsetting is that the bigger animals, such as the lions and ostriches, are obviously sick and stressed. The ostriches are missing a lot of feathers and the male lion has a big sore on his face. I'm not sure if it is due to maltreatment or just the climate here which is wet almost all the time.
The other half of the zoo, the aquarium/non Ecuadorian animals, is pretty bad. The fish and reptile exhibits look like you're in a bad pet shop that doesn't clean the aquariums too often. What is really upsetting is that the bigger animals, such as the lions and ostriches, are obviously sick and stressed. The ostriches are missing a lot of feathers and the male lion has a big sore on his face. I'm not sure if it is due to maltreatment or just the climate here which is wet almost all the time.
Written 7 May 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
amyelizabethdeacon
Tunapuna, Trinidad20 contributions
Dec 2014 • Couples
I was a little concerned about visiting a zoo at all, as they can be upsetting if animals are not properly housed and looked after. However, in the most part this zoo had done a reasonable job - some enclosures could have been larger, but animals looked healthy. The main plus was the emphasis on conservation and education, and the fact that ALL the animals were from the region (no tigers, giraffes or elephants, for example!) and many of them rescued - this is how all zoos should be, in my opinion.
The setting for the zoo was spectacular - set in the valley with amazing views, and many of the enclosures and walkways took advantage of the natural mountainous surroundings.
There seemed to be a competitor animal park nearby, which had lions and other animals - something to deliberately avoid, I think - at least at the main zoo you feel your (modest) entry fee will be used in a worthwhile way for the welfare and conservation of Ecuadorian animals.
The setting for the zoo was spectacular - set in the valley with amazing views, and many of the enclosures and walkways took advantage of the natural mountainous surroundings.
There seemed to be a competitor animal park nearby, which had lions and other animals - something to deliberately avoid, I think - at least at the main zoo you feel your (modest) entry fee will be used in a worthwhile way for the welfare and conservation of Ecuadorian animals.
Written 11 January 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tommie Sox
New York City, NY436 contributions
Sept 2019 • Couples
Zoological de San Martin is a Zoo that has many birds as well as monkeys and even a white tiger. There are a lot of stairs and hills to walk up throughout the Zoo so be prepared for a workout.
Written 19 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
How much is the taxi ride from "downtown" to the zoo?
Written 1 December 2019
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