Tropical World (Leeds)

...this weekend was the famous Tropical World of Leeds. One thing I must add is that if you have kids then do visit this wonderful place because my kids probably had their best outing this weekend when we all tasted the tropical experience. So I will try to portray the expressions and experience from my son's point of view as well.

The Tropical World……..

This fabulous place is located 3 miles from Leeds city centre in Princes ...
...gardens and walked to the Tropical World which I noticed is situated just opposite a Roundhay Inn (seemed like a nice place to have lunch and drinks).

The Entrance…..

Upon entering the gates of the Tropical World, which is written in bold on a huge board just above the entrance, we entered a passage. On the right hand of the entrance passage is a small tea shop with nice tables and chairs situated out in an open courtyard ... more

A Little About Leeds……..

It takes just an hour drive from my hometown, Manchester to reach this alive and vibrant city called Leeds. Leeds is situated in the West Yorkshire, in the North of England. According to the recent population estimations, Leeds is the third largest city of England. It is a beautiful and historical place to visit as it has a huge range of attractions. The main attraction for us this weekend was the famous Tropical World of Leeds. One thing I must add is that if you have kids then do visit this wonderful place because my kids probably had their best outing this weekend when we all tasted the tropical experience. So I will try to portray the expressions and experience from my son's point of view as well.

The Tropical World……..

This fabulous place is located 3 miles from Leeds city centre in Princes Avenue, directly adjacent to the famous Canal Gardens, in between the main gates of Roundhay Park and Mansion Lane Leeds. It was a bright sunny day yesterday so it seemed like all the people were having outdoor fun, as we can see lines and lines of vehicles parked on both sides of the road; we decided to park our car in the parking lot of Roundhay Park. One of the intentions was to stroll down the exotic gardens as well, because they simply are very beautiful. We crossed the gardens and walked to the Tropical World which I noticed is situated just opposite a Roundhay Inn (seemed like a nice place to have lunch and drinks).

The Entrance…..

Upon entering the gates of the Tropical World, which is written in bold on a huge board just above the entrance, we entered a passage. On the right hand of the entrance passage is a small tea shop with nice tables and chairs situated out in an open courtyard and on the right I was spellbound with the beauty of flowery display. You can see beautiful gardens full of flowers and beautiful plants; this area is called the Coronation House. There is a pond on your far right with many fish swimming and I guess it is sort of a wishing well as well as you can throw coins inside too. My son was so fascinated with the size of the fish swimming here and there. According to the information page these fish are called Koi Carp and there is a huge one called White Honeycomb Koi as well which is accordingly around 26 inches long. Right beside the pond there is a single but huge cage full of Ring Tailed Lemurs. Hassan (My Son) thought they looked a bit sad and gloomy but I think they looked kind of cute hanging on the trees.

The Gift shop.....

From that onwards we entered into a cute looking gift shop. And my kids forget all about there adventure seeking intentions and wanted to buy something form the attractive collection. I put them off for later and bought tickets from the counter. It costs me £6; £3 each for me and hubby and being under 8 my boys go for free. But for your information I must add that the pricing is:
Adults £3
Child (8 years and above) £2
Child (under 8 years) Free
Leeds card holders Free

After this procedure we entered into yet another entrance with a cute looking forest house made of straw in the centre. Sounds of animals, hissing of the snakes and creeping of the insects giving us a feeling of entering into a real life jungle. But when I looked above we were inside a glass house. After that we entered into a passage with small fish aquariums on both the sides. The passage was a bit congested for Haris's (my younger one) stroller to pass by and it was not well lit for us to read the names of the fish.

The Butterfly world……

The favourite part of the venue for Hassan was the exotic butterfly world. As soon as we pass the big flap like entrance suddenly we felt the change in the temperature. It was certainly quite hot and humid inside. But you cannot imagine until you see it yourself the experience of walking amongst the pretty butterflies. There are thousands in number and right underneath the bridges we saw all kinds of fishes with sounds of insects and foggy atmosphere, just like being in a real forest. You can find 30 to 40 varieties of butterflies within the environment of flowering plants and citrus tress. Some of the specimens of the butterflies are bred right here from the pupae, which is also displayed in one corner in a huge glass box. Amongst the fishes you can find different Egyptian, Firemouths, Pangasius Sutchi and Giant Gourami fishes. There are also mud turtles, soft belly turtles and leafcutter ants which I am afraid we fail to spot but the aroma of the jungle was magnificent. There was a pretty waterfall in one corner portraying a splendid view.

The Amazon Tank…….

Departing the butterfly world we entered the Amazon tank where we can see the entrance to the Rainforest and on one side there was a huge tank with some of the largest fishes that lives in this world, amongst which were the Niger Catfish, Pacus, Tiger-skinned Shovel-nosed Catfish, Red-tailed Catfish and even a Giraffe Fish. I managed to take a few snaps with Hassan as a model. 

The Rainforest…….

This area also known as the Australasia House displays some exotic scenery with a huge waterfall in the centre. It is said that this place has been used as a set for films and TV. Here we saw huge variety of plants and flowers, including the rare Jade Vine. We went under the waterfall and get our photographs taken. Hassan spotted a bunch of cute turtles in a corner. Great tree warts were amazing; I came to learn later that the woods from these trees are used to make tabletops.

Creature Corner………

Exiting the rainforest we noticed that we were suddenly on a first floor landing and there was a creature corner to our right. Hassan shouted as he spotted snakes and lizards, yakeeeeee! for me but for hubby and the boys they were good looking. We also saw Spiny Mice while one was busy eating its lunch, plus Tortoises, Water Dragon and Degus as well.

The Amazon……….

From there we entered into the Amazon/S. American Zone. Moist environment, hissing sounds and birds chirping in your ears, God! I felt like Tarzan. We managed to spot a few parrots and birds including a pair of Macawe. Haris was feeling a bit hot so I missed the info page here but I guess they have some variety of birds here, at least you can hear them.

The Desert……..

Hassan was excited to enter the hot and humid desert and according to the temperature monitor, they were maintaining 35 degrees there, God it was hot! We saw cactus and succulents and different other American and South African Plants. I spotted one single canary; it was so cute and very beautiful, orange with black spots. There were some Meerkats in the entrance and we took a picture of a single skull of some animal lying there. I think they have done a tremendous job, creating a deserted environment. The passage was leading to the Nocturnal Zone and it was dark in there.

The Nocturnal Zone……

It was quite dark inside so we were unable to read the information paper but we saw some Giant Rats, Fruit bats and Owl Monkeys caged in enormous glass tanks. On exit we found ourselves passing through a lake with lots of ducks bathing and partridges just relaxing there. Then we went through a long hallway with lots of posters displayed on the walls. Hassan loved the colours and wanted to have his picture taken with the butterfly poster.

The Swamp….

We entered our last tropical zone and the sign read the Swamp. There we again saw some huge fishes in glass tanks. Passing through the aquarium and again through the butterfly house we re-entered the gift shop through a different door. Right before the door I spotted a guest book and decided to write down a few nice comments.

Hassan did his shopping as promised and bought a few souvenirs like fish on a pencil, fish stickers and plastic turtles. We were quite exhausted due to heat so we get ourselves some drinks and went to the Roundhay Park to have our picnic lunch. It was a lovely outing and we all enjoyed it a lot.

For your information…………

If you are interested in taking a Virtual tour of this place while sitting in front of your PC then please visit:
http://www.vrleeds.co.uk/tropical_demo/index.html

Total time for visit is 1 hour 30 minutes.

Onsite parking is available. Group visits and educational visits are accepted
Accessibility features include: Parking Areas for Disabled Visitors. Toilets for disabled visitors, all areas accessible for disabled visitors, Ramp/Level access available and guide dogs are also permitted.

This place is only closed on Christmas and Boxing Day. Otherwise it is opened all year round.
10 AM till 6 PM (summer) and 10 Am till 4 PM (winter).

Address:
Tropical World
Canal Gardens
Roundhay Park
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS8 1ER
England
United Kingdom

Phone: +44(0113) 266 1850
Fax: +44(0113) 237 0077
Email: catherine.bowhill@leeds.gov.uk

According to the bus route you can get the bus number 2 and 12 from the Leeds city centre.
If going by car then use www.multimap.com for directions.
Follow the brown and white signpost of Tropical World with a graphic image of a butterfly and a man.

Have a lovely day…………
Hina.
 

...less