Ecoparque or Temaikèn: Which Buenos Aires Wildlife Park to Visit

Go to Temaikèn if you want a full day of animals: it is a biopark of more than 34 hectares in Escobar, 50 km from the City of Buenos Aires, with the largest aviary in South America and an aquarium holding more than a million litres of sea water. Choose Ecoparque Buenos Aires if you have a few hours in Palermo and care more about native species and rescue work than big exotic animals. The Ecoparque is no longer free for foreign visitors, but a foreign adult pays ARS 19,741 there against ARS 39,000 online at Temaikèn, and that Temaikèn price is September's half-price offer.

Which park to choose

These are two different kinds of place. The Ecoparque is the old city zoo turned into a centre for native species, wildlife rescue and environmental education. Temaikèn is a large biopark outside the city, built around themed areas: an aquarium, a giant aviary, a farm and habitats for animals from Argentina and beyond.

Ecoparque: native species in the middle of Palermo

The Buenos Aires Zoo opened in 1888, closed in 2016 and reopened in 2018 as an eco-park: 18 hectares in the Palermo district. It has rescued more than 3,900 animals and runs 15 conservation programmes for endangered native species. The animals you can see include capybaras, tapirs, rheas, Chilean flamingos and Andean condors.

Do not come expecting elephants. Pupy, a 35-year-old African elephant and the last elephant living at the Ecoparque, was moved to an elephant sanctuary in Mato Grosso, Brazil, in 2025, and the city says the exotic animals still there are elderly or cannot be moved for logistical reasons.

Much of the visit is the park itself. More than 40 historic buildings, declared historical heritage, have been refurbished, among them the main entrance arch, the parrots pavilion and the Byzantine ruins. Besides talks and guided visits at fixed times, some spaces are open all day with no slot to book: immersive butterfly, bee and condor walks, the Ecoevolución 4D experience and a children's playground. CHE is an interactive museum about the park's transformation and Argentina's biodiversity.

At 15:00, Tuesday to Sunday, the watchtower over Lake Darwin opens a few metres from the Plaza Italia entrance, free and with no need to register. From the top, look for thrushes, swallows, caracaras and cormorants. If you want to see the conservation side up close, the Ecoparque also runs exclusive visits covering its breeding, rescue, rehabilitation, release and conservation work.

Featured location Ecoparque Buenos Aires Argentina ALPZA Ecoparque Buenos Aires is a zoo in Argentina.

Temaikèn: a full-day biopark in Escobar

Temaikèn's water area recreates three Argentine water environments: the Poza de Marea, a rocky shore typical of southern Argentina; a freshwater section; and the Ocean. The Ocean is a circular aquarium that wraps around you with more than a million litres of sea water and species from the floor of the Argentine Sea, spotted sharks among them.

El Lugar de las Aves is the largest aviary in South America, with birds from every continent and, by Wikipedia's count, more than 2,500 birds from around the world. You follow outdoor paths and viewpoints rather than walking through the enclosures, a choice the park makes for the birds' welfare.

Territorio Aguará opened in the 2025 winter holidays. It centres on the maned wolf, the largest canid in South America: the female living there was rescued in Santa Fe, and you meet capybaras, caimans and freshwater turtles along the way. At La Chacra, the farm, you can meet calves and farm birds and interact with goats and sheep. Planeta Vida, a 360-degree immersive experience, costs nothing on top of your ticket. Check the day programme: it lists sessions such as milking at La Chacra.

Featured location Fundación Temaikèn Belén de Escobar, Argentina ALPZAWAZA It is owned by a non-profit foundation started by Pérez Companc and is run as a biopark, merging the aims of a botanical garden, a zoo, an aquarium and a museum of natural history and anthropology.

So which one?

Pick the Ecoparque for a few hours in the city, for native wildlife and for the historic grounds, or if you live in Buenos Aires and get in free. Pick Temaikèn for an aquarium, South America's largest aviary and a whole day of animals, and plan it as a day trip. The two do not combine well on one day by direct bus: the last direct 194 to Temaikèn leaves Plaza Italia at 10:20, before the Ecoparque opens at 11:00.

Tickets and saving money

The city began charging tourists at the Ecoparque from Wednesday 17 June 2026. These are the rates it announced in June 2026:

• Residents of the City of Buenos Aires: free on showing your DNI, through an exclusive entrance on Avenida Sarmiento.
• Children under 12, over-65s and people with disabilities who live in Argentina: free, but arrange the ticket in advance.
• Other residents of Argentina: ARS 9,871, booked in advance at ecoparque.buenosaires.gob.ar.
• Foreign visitors: ARS 19,741 for adults and ARS 15,793 for children under 12.

At Temaikèn, September brings 50% off tickets bought online. The discount comes off the current box-office price and applies only online. In September 2026 that made an online ticket ARS 39,000 for adults and for children aged 3-10, on both the resident and the non-resident booking pages. Children under 3 go free but need their DNI, physical or digital. People with disabilities enter free with the Certificado Único de Discapacidad (CUD).

Buy Temaikèn tickets ahead. An online ticket is valid only for the date you choose, the box offices sell tickets only while that day's entry cap has not been reached, and the park says booking online is how you make sure of a place. Bring a card: the box offices accept no cash in any currency.

If you will go back, look at the Biopase, Temaikèn's annual pass: ARS 131,880 online when checked in September 2026. It gives free entry for a year from your first visit, plus one ticket to invite anyone you like from your second visit. At September's online price, it costs a little under three and a half single tickets.

Getting there

The Ecoparque has entrances on Plaza Italia and on Avenida del Libertador. Plaza Italia station, on Line D of the underground, is a short distance away, as are the La Rural fairgrounds and the Botanical Garden.

Temaikèn starts from the same corner of the city. Details are on Temaikèn's practical information page:

• Direct bus 194: three services a day from the stop on Avenida Sarmiento opposite La Rural, leaving Plaza Italia at 09:00, 09:40 and 10:20. They come back from Temaikèn at 16:40, 17:20 and 18:00, from the stop opposite the ticket booths, inside the car park.
• Bus 60 and 276: line 60 runs to Escobar from Plaza Italia, from a stop on Avenida Sarmiento on the La Rural side, and drops you about 15 blocks from the park. Or change on Route 25 to line 276, which stops opposite the park. You need a SUBE card, because these buses take no cash.
• By car: take the Panamericana, Escobar-Campana branch (RN 9), to Escobar at km 49, then Route 25. Parking is free and needs no booking. Pets cannot come in, and they may not be left in cars in the car park either.

Best time to visit

The Ecoparque opens Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays, 11:00 to 18:00, and closes when it rains. During the two weeks of the winter school holidays it opens every day at the same hours.

Temaikèn's hours change with the season:

• 1 March to 30 November: Wednesday to Sunday and holidays, 10:00 to 18:00.
• 2 July to 2 August: every day, 10:00 to 18:00.
• December: Wednesday to Sunday and holidays, 10:00 to 19:00.
• January and February: every day, 10:00 to 19:00.
• Closed: 24, 25 and 31 December, 1 January and Good Friday.

Entry to the park and to the aviary closes an hour before the listed closing time, and the aviary itself shuts an hour before the park, so visit the birds early rather than leaving them for last.

Weather is the other deciding factor. Buenos Aires summers are hot and humid with frequent thunderstorms, winters are cool and drier with mild days and cold nights, and spring and autumn are changeable.

With kids and accessibility

The Ecoparque is the easier short outing with small children: children under 12 who live in Argentina go free, there is a playground, and the Lake Darwin watchtower costs nothing. Leave the bikes, balls and balloons at home, because the park bans bicycles and other wheeled vehicles, balls, balloons and inflatables, along with pets, alcohol, cans and glass.

At Temaikèn, children cannot enter without an adult, and each adult aged 18 or over can bring up to three. Bring your own pushchair if you can: the hire service is limited and only for children up to 15 kg. Food is not allowed in, but you can bring your mate kit and a bottle of water each, and there are no lockers, so pack light. Wear closed shoes with rubber soles, since some areas are entered through disinfectant footbaths.

Temaikèn is designed so every visitor can go round all of it, with ramps to every area and adapted toilets. Wheelchairs are handed out at the photography stand at the entrance, but stock is limited and cannot be reserved, so bring your own if you depend on one. The park also offers a map of quiet zones for visitors with autism spectrum disorder.