Green Planet Dubai is the first indoor rainforest world, located in the upscale, city walk. It is also one of the very facilities in the world that is a Certified Autism Center which is awarded by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), an international body that is engaged in rating and certifying organizations’ commitment to make themselves autistic friendly. The Green Planet is one more effort by the Dubai Government to bring rainforest experience and understanding to its residents and tourists. It is situated inside a tower of concrete and the rainforest experience is created inside this tower as close to reality as possible including, rains, forests, fauna, flora, and much more. The facility provides various edutainment packages to its visitors.
The Green Planet in Dubai is a unique indoor zoo and botanical garden situated in the vibrant City Walk district. Since its opening in 2016, this remarkable attraction has been captivating visitors with its huge collection of over 3,000 plants and animals, all housed within an impressive artificial “bio-dome” that mimics a tropical rainforest. A lot of us have never visited a rain forest, especially those who have been living in the vast desert of the Middle East. When you walk into this place, you will get to experience the huge difference between a desert and rainforest in terms of the living system. The green planet is an investment into creating knowledge and appreciation for the plants and animals that survive and throb in the rain forests. Developed my MERAS and opened in 2016 for public, the Green Planet is a zoo and garden, and park all rolled in one. There are over 3000 animals including mammals, insects, reptiles, and fish in this unique biodome that is LEED certified. This biodome is 60,000 square feet of area built around a large concrete tree and a large waterfall. It is the artificial tree around which a unique bio=diversity is created, divided into 4 different vertical levels.
Location and Opening Hours
This artificial forest is located in the City Walk, Dubai. The City Walk Dubai is a new luxury destination at the crossroads of Satwa and Jumeirah. This district is famous for a blending and fusing modernity into traditions. The master developer is MERAS and it has many other attractions like the Coke Studio and Arena. Since accessibility is a key consideration for any family friendly tourist center, this facility is fully wheelchair-friendly, ensuring that all guests can enjoy the diverse array of flora and fauna on display. It is very close to metro station as well as public transport points.
This biodome offers visitors an immersive experience of a tropical forest’s rich biodiversity. It operates from Sunday to Saturday, opening its doors at 10:00 am and closing at 6:00 pm, providing ample time for exploration and learning.
Ticket Prices and Booking
The Green Planet offers a complete day package to its visitors. There are two packages available to experience this place. A standard package only costs AED 155 when you book online, www.thegreenplanetdubai.com. This package includes a day-long tour of the biodome, as well as a visit to the Adventure Trail play area and Soft Play area. Discounts are available for online bookings. This package includes exciting encounters like the Sloth and Sugar Glider experience. For larger groups or those interested in a more educational visit, multi-pass tickets and group bookings are available. It’s advisable to check the official website for the most current pricing and package options.
There is also an Exclusive VIP Pass for people who want a more immersive experience. This pass includes Fast Pass to skip the queue and save time. A fish feeding session, free parking, meet and greet also.
There is also a natural park day pass and natural park annual pass to explore the natural park, animatronic, actual bugs, and forests. The passes cover 1 adult and 1 child. Kids below 3 years enter free. It will come with treehouse experience.
You can buy a zookeeper of the day pass. You can buy this for your child also. It provides you a whole new level of experience with the zoo. There will be special training and educative sessions and it is monthly or annual pass to get a new certificate add too. For those who love animals and plants, there is no better way than to get a AED 40 a day zookeeper pass.
There are special discounts for group booking and educational tours.
Rainforest Experience
You start your journey by taking a narrow bridge that takes you to the forest floor. It is a realm where the earthy scent of damp soil and decaying leaves mingles with the fresh aroma of understory vegetation. A flooded biosystem is created where you will find anchor fish and many other reptiles. Here, the symphony of forest sounds envelops you, as small creatures rustle in the underbrush and the distant calls of birds’ echo through the air. The forest floor is starkly similar to the actual forest floor and great care has been taken to recreate it by the experts, as your guide would explain. Even the temperature on the floor is kept a bit warm akin to the temperature of a real forest floor. The leaf cutters on the forest floor actually convert the leaves into manure for the growth.
As you climb up, you will ascend to the Midstory, the air grows cooler and the light dims, filtered through the dense canopy above. The midstory forms the bulk of the rainforest ecosystem. It is where you will see various collaborative, and cohesive ecosystem. There are vines that drape the trunk and help in the food system while using the trunk to climb higher. The sounds of the forest change here, with the chatter of monkeys and the flutter of bird wings becoming more prominent. Here the main attractions are the squirrel monkeys, Cuban parrots, and huge green boa. The midstory of a tropical amazonian forest is similarly leafy area that rarely catch sunrays. Due to occasional sunlight that filters through the overhead canopy area, the animals are adopted to their ecosystem by mimicking its colors.
Reaching the Canopy, you find yourself at the head This is where you will have abundance of sunlight. Every tree in the tropical forest competes to reach to this height to catch as much sunlight as possible to survive. You will encounter huge and powerful birds and encounter sloth in this ecosystem. As the sunlight breaks through the foliage, casting dappled patterns on the forest floor far below. The Canopy is a place of wonder, where the majority of the rainforest’s biodiversity can be found. It’s a thrilling experience to look out across a sea of green, knowing that this is one of the most vital and vibrant ecosystems on our planet.
Throughout your ascent, The Green Planet café offers a culinary journey as rich and diverse as the rainforest itself. With a menu inspired by the tropical environment, visitors can indulge in dishes that incorporate sustainable and locally sourced ingredients, reflecting the biodiversity of the rainforest. From light bites to hearty meals, the café provides an array of options to suit every palate, ensuring that the exploration of the Green Forest is not only a feast for the eyes but also for the taste buds.
This phased journey through the Green Forest rainforest is not just an exploration of nature; it’s an immersive experience that engages all the senses, educates about biodiversity and conservation, and leaves visitors with a profound appreciation for the intricate web of life that thrives within a tropical rainforest.
Exhibits and Attractions
This unique park has attractions based on various encounters that you will have various animals at various levels. The efforts have been to ensure that each and every species find a very natural habitat to survive and the visitors are able to find them easily while not disturbing them in anyway. The biodome takes care of over 3,000 species of flora and fauna, providing them a safe haven. It is equipped with special labs where this living planet is provided with the required nourishment to thrive. At the basement level or flooded rainwater level you will encounter anchor fish an immersive educational and recreational experience. The attractions start from flooded rainwater right at the bottom with its fish and motoro rays, a unique stingray that have spots on their back in a pattern that is different for each motoro ray. At forest floor level you will find leaf cutter ants converting the fallen leaves into bio-manure. All these encounters at each level from the bottom most to canopy level would mesmerize you as the desert bio-system is pretty flat. And all this experience is available right in the middle of this bustling city of Dubai!
Interactive Experiences
The Green Planet in Dubai offers a lot of first-hand experiences to allow the visitors to dunk themselves in the wonders of a tropical rainforest. The interactive experiences include getting closer to animals, reptiles, birds, and insects that you will otherwise find impossible to even meet. It’s ‘Zookeeper for the Day’ ticket will allow visitors to get closest to the zoo animals. Participate in feeding and nurturing them under the guidance of an expert. This hands-on experience is designed to give participants a deeper understanding of animal care and conservation efforts. The park has branded experience called “encounters”. Encounter in this park means close interaction with the living animals or robot animals. Experience in such “encounters” may mean feeding, touching, feeling and observing. The park has now an outdoor botanical garden with 20 huge animatronics, skyline walks over the massive trees, and much more. Added to this interactive experience are the educational tours and summer camps for a more emphatic understanding of our ecosystem.
This indoor park interactive programs extend further when you get near the animatronics, the robots that are in the shape of various bugs and insects. The detailing of their bodies is absolutely flawless to give you a feel of what they actually are, how they behave, and move.H2 – Animal Encounters
Visitors to The Green Planet in Dubai can submerge themselves in a tropical forest environment and enjoy a variety of animal encounters. One can engage with the gentle sloths during the Sloth Encounter, where you can learn about their unique biology and importance to the rainforest ecosystem. Bird enthusiasts can delight in the Bird Encounter, getting up close with various exotic species. For those interested in reptiles, the Reptile Encounter offers a chance to meet and learn about the different reptilian inhabitants of the rainforest. Additionally, encounters with anteaters, armadillos, and porcupines provide a unique opportunity to observe these creatures and understand their roles in their natural habitats. Each encounter is designed to be educational and interactive, providing a memorable experience for all ages.
Educational Programs
This park offers a lot of educational programs to children of all age groups to enhance their understanding of a distant ecosystem of a tropical rain forest. . The park’s vision, mission, and values are ingrained to providing nourishing knowledge to kids. These are, “Mission Statement: To provide quality educational programs that foster curiosity, incite excitement, teach conservation and sustainability, and leave a lasting impression. Values are, Compassionate – We have compassion for all living things, Expertise – We are Knowledgeable and passionate about what we do and the messages we represent, Respect – Treat all living things as we want to be treated, Committed to – To educating and inspiring our guests.”
The park provides school field trips called, “Go Eco”, and “The Rain Forest Relationship”. Both these programs are aligned with the Ministry of Education and its learning objectives of making the children to understand, appreciate, and protect their ecosystem and those that are far awaH2 – Family-Friendly Features
This destination is a unique dome that offers a riveting experience into the rainforest in an urban setting. It includes all the diversity within the reach of a family, catering to both children and adults. For the young explorers, the adventure begins with over 20 giant animatronic bugs that provide an interactive learning experience. The Nature Park’s treehouse adventure trail and skyline walks are designed specifically for children aged four to fourteen, featuring viewing platforms and slides for a day filled with fun and discovery. Meanwhile, adults can appreciate the nine botanical gardens, each representing different corners of the world, showcasing a diverse range of flora. The Green Planet also provides an educational journey through its four levels of interaction, where visitors can encounter a variety of animal and plant species, from sloths and toucans to exotic plants and insects. This eco-friendly attraction is not only a recreational space but also serves as an educational platform, promoting biodiversity and sustainability.
Sustainability Initiatives
The Green Planet isn’t a collection of exotic animals. Quite the opposite, it is committed to preserving the environment and animals. It has adopted strategies to reduce carbon footprints. The strategies are built around reducing waste, recycle waste, and spread awareness on how to improve the quality of environment around them. Inside the park its Café has completely eliminated all single use plastics. The use of single use plastics poses the biggest threat to the environment. It has reduced use of energy by adopting the principles of LEED in the building, and its HVAC design. Furthermore, it is using the animal waste as bio compost for its vegetation. and is the reason for The Green Planet is committed to lowering carbon footprints.
The park has started the first-ever eco-friendly birthday party packages, a first UAE, with its Blow Bubbles, not Balloons initiative. While organizing birthday parties, it only decorations that are reusable with no single use plastics. All invited guests are provided with biodegradable bags as a takeaway. It provides bio-degradable bags even at its the retail shop. The park is also planning to implement a composting program to recycle animal food waste into fertilizer for its biodome.
In order to spread awareness of plant-life on the environment, the Green Plant has started distributing seeds to every visitor free of cost. This is given to the visitors as free gift with instructions of how to plant them. This is the park’s way of giving it back to the environment.
Its environment sustainability efforts could be summarized as follows;
It only uses and distributes re-usable canvas shopping bags instead of plastic.
It uses reusable water bottles and coffee cups.
It ensures that it buys products that are Rainforest Safe and Palm Oil Free.
Its staff are encouraged to walk or bike while commuting to office.
It has started using compost organic material instead of using chemical fertilizers in its garden.
It is also providing a lot of education programs like “Go Eco” to children to increase their understanding of nature and environment.H2 – Visitor Reviews and Testimonials
This unique biodome often referred to as a ‘Green Forest’, has garnered positive feedback from visitors, with an impressive average rating of 4.5 on Tripadvisor. It is celebrated as the region’s first bio-dome that replicates a tropical forest’s enchanting world, offering a rich biodiversity of over 3,000 plants and animals. Visitors have expressed great admiration for the experience it provides, allowing an up-close encounter with various species such as sloths, toucans, and tree porcupines. The facility is praised for its educational and recreational value, making it a recommended destination for families and guests of all ages. One visitor described it as a ‘Disneyland for adults,’ highlighting the joy and excitement it brings, irrespective of age. Another review appreciated the knowledgeable staff and the unique experiences on offer, like the thunder show, which adds to the venue’s appeal.
Conclusion
Green Planet, located in Dubai, is the best place to learn and enjoy a tropical forest experience without going into a tropical forest. The Dubai Green Planet is a unique bio-dome that offers a thrilling and riveting encounter with the diverse animals, plants, insects, and trees that inhabit a typical forest. The Green Plant Dubai tickets are available online, at the location, or with various Destination Management Companies.
Green Planet’s family-friendly activities include close interaction with unique animals that roam in tropical forests, feeding a few of them, participating as a zookeeper for a day, and participating in audiovisual presentations. In addition to experiencing, it all together, many educational exhibits on Green Planet provide valuable learning insights into their world. The park’s sustainability efforts are also very important and ca be used as a model to reduce carbon footprints.
It is very important to visit this man-made bio-diverse dome and appreciate the unique world of a typical tropical forest. The Green Planet is also preventing poaching of animals by adopting the slow loris family as its brand ambassador thus bringing attention to its illegal trade.
FAQs
What can visitors expect to see in Green Planet?
The visitors can fully expect the unexpected. Right from the unique species of animals to various levels of a green tropical forest based on various heights! The forest floor, Midstory,, and finally the canopy which is inhabited by birds, and insects, but very few species of animals.
Are there any age restrictions for visiting Green Planet?
There are no age restrictions for visiting this biodome. This is a place for seeing, learning, and appreciating the diversity of God’s creation that is vastly different than our desert-based bio-system.
Is photography allowed inside Green Planet?
Photography is permitted at The Green Planet in Dubai. This allows visitors to capture memories of their experience in this unique tropical rainforest environment. The facility maintains a comfortable temperature and humidity level to replicate the natural conditions of a tropical forest, which also ensures a pleasant photography experience. While selfie sticks and standard tripods are allowed at the discretion of the management, it’s important to note that flash photography is not permitted, as it can disturb the delicate ecosystem and the well-being of the resident flora and fauna.