12 Months Zoo: A Day Trip from Kyiv to Demydiv

The 12 Months Zoo sits in Demydiv, a village on the Kyiv-Minsk highway north of the city. It opened in 2015, and its own director has told the story of how the site survived Russian occupation in the war's first weeks. Whether it is worth the trip north comes down to how much you want that story alongside the animals.

What not to miss

Featured location Зоопарк ХІІ Місяців Демидов, Ukraine It opens every day of the year, which gave rise to the Twelve Months name. The site is in Vyshhorod raion of Kyiv oblast, close to the village of Demydiv.

The zoo's own story is as striking as its animals. Director Mykhailo Pinchuk raised two orangutans in his own house, cared for by his wife. When Russian forces occupied Demydiv in the first days of the full-scale invasion, seven staff were trapped on site for more than a month, unable to leave. The occupiers left the animals alone but blew up the zoo's office building, and they did not withdraw from the surrounding Vyshhorod district until 31 March 2022. Mykola Stepanovych, the giraffe the director calls the zoo's largest animal and "head of the family," fell during the bombardment.

Bring that history with you and the visit reads differently. The zoo runs guided excursions if you want a member of staff talking you through the animals and that history rather than reading it off a sign, and there is a cafe on site for when you need a break.

Tickets and saving money

As of September 2026, the 12 Months Zoo charges adults 650 UAH, children aged 3-6 and seniors 450 UAH each, and admits children under 3 for free. Organised groups pay 400 UAH per person.

Best time to visit

The zoo runs a summer and a winter timetable. From 1 April to 31 October it opens 10am to 7pm on weekdays and 10am to 6pm on weekends; from 1 November to 31 March it opens 10am to 6pm on weekdays and 10am to 5pm on weekends.

Getting there

Demydiv lies on the western bank of the Irpin River, on the Kyiv-Minsk highway, north of Kyiv.

Other wildlife nearby

Ukraine's directory also lists two more zoos, in Rivne and Lutsk. Rivne Zoo, a zoological park of national significance founded in 1982, covers 13.5 hectares and holds 216 species, around 1,500 animals in total, and it is the only zoo in the country where you can see the wildebeest, the two-toed sloth and the three-banded armadillo. It opens daily, year-round, from 9am to 7pm, with the ticket office closing 30 minutes before that; as of the site's current listing, an adult ticket to the main exposition costs 200 UAH, a separate adult ticket to its exotic terrarium costs 120 UAH, and children pay 100 UAH. Lutsk Zoo, a municipal enterprise founded in 1979 on Hlushets Street inside the city's Central Park of Culture and Recreation, covers about 4 hectares and holds 146 species, some 2,300 animals; it joined Species360, the global zoo information network, in 2017. Lutsk Zoo's current prices and hours are not confirmed here, so check with them directly before you travel.

Rivne Zoo also took in animals evacuated from the war's front lines: it housed 63 animals from the Kyiv region, Kharkiv and Dnipro from March 2022.