Temaiken Park is located about a 35-minute drive (one hour using the public bus transportation) from the city of Buenos Aires in the town of Escobar. In addition to its internationalyl respected zoo, the park is a treasure of green spaces with playgrounds and picnic spots, making it a welcome break from the cosmopolitan city. Do not confuse this with the Buenos Aires Zoo located in the Palermo District.

The Buenos Aires Zoo (officially the Zoological Gardens) in the Palermo neighborhood is comprised of 45 acres in the park that includes the magnificent Botanical Gardens and lovely Japanese Gardens. While it boasts a wonderful lake full of flamingoes and whimsical architecture (the house for the Asian elephants is built to resemble an Indian temple, and the monkey house overlooking the lake resembles a Russian church), it does not have the wide variety offered at Teimaken. However, if you don’t have time for a Temaiken Park day excursion, it’s certainly worth a visit. Children will especially enjoy the farm, which gives them a hands-on experience with a variety of farm animals. You can combine a visit here with Palermo shopping and dining or even a dance lesson at one of the many tango parlors in the district.

However, if you want to experience an exceptional world-class zoological facility, then the Buenos Aires Zoo at Temaiken Park is where you should head. Here, the animal enclosures are large and more natural with most animals kept in habitats resembling their natural environment. There are few cages and bars. In fact, there are raised walkways right over many of the enclosures, meaning you are not peering over fences or through bars. This is great for children who sometimes have difficulty seeing animals in traditional cage zoos. Animals in these open enclosures include tiger, lions, zebras, and various species of antelopes. Children will also enjoy the farm area, where they can touch and even feed everything from turkeys and goats to cows and ponies. You can get a break from heat and sun in air-conditioned exhibits with low light, including the panther exhibit and cave tunnels featuring burrowing and nocturnal creatures. There is a sizeable aquarium featuring the sound of soothing music and surf. You can walk through a glass tunnel to look up at sharks and other denizens of the deep. You can watch African meerkats and lemurs at play, observe species native to the Andes Mountains and Patagonia area and the Atlantic coast, and get very close to flamingoes and other water birds.

Buenos Aires Map

You can get to Temaiken Park via public bus #60. Be sure you are on the correct bus, as there are two with the number 60. One goes to Temaiken and one to the Casa Rosada, the “Pink House” made famous by beloved former First Lady Eva Peron. The bus may not be air-conditioned, and you need to know where to get off, as the bus does not stop right at the zoo. If you want a more comfortable and more reliable method of public transportation, you can book tours from operators in the city for about $40, which includes cost of admission. These are not guided tours, but merely reliable transportation that includes admission. You arrange what time you want to be collected when you book the tour.