Tropical World is situated at the Roundhay Village end of Leeds Roundhay Park. It is an intriguing combination of winter gardens and zoo with a series of expertly created landscapes such as Amazonian rainforest, Australasian desert and swamps for the visitor to explore.

Each ecosystem is home to the birds, fish, insects, plants and trees that would live there; obviously there are some limitations - this is not a zoo and it is all indoors so there are no large animals and only a limited number of animals and birds. Nevertheless you can see a small troop of industrious meerkats in the desert zone, terrapins in the Australasia House and owl monkeys and bushbabies in the nocturnal zone. In the courtyards there are tiny tamarinds that come right up to the glass, unafraid of the noisy children clamouring for a better view, and lemurs, unruffled by all the excitement.

In the butterfly house the exotic and colourful moths and butterflies feast on fruit from the citrus trees, sometimes landing on the head of an unsuspecting visitor.

On the route small signs tell you what plants and trees you are looking at as well as let you know what fish and animals you may see in that section. Obviously since the animals look after themselves, it is entirely possible that you may not spot a creature that has decided to take itself off to a quiet corner! Other than these signs, there is very little information on what you are seeing which I found disappointing. However, there are packs for schoolteachers, which may be suitable for use by parents to answer questions their children may have. On the whole, I thought that Tropical World is more appropriate for older children - perhaps over the age of seven because it is difficult to spot some of the creatures and it is possible that you could do the whole circuit and spot only a small number of animals. I do not think children would be as interested in the plants and trees as they would in the animals and birds and I think they would quickly get fed up if there was not enough to see. I also fear that young children might find sections too hot and humid to be enjoyable.

On a good day when all the animals want to be seen and its not too crowded you could easily spend two hours or so at Tropical World; I can imagine that when it is busy it is easy to be caught up in the tide and keep moving before you are ready to. If you are visiting without children and during term-time, I would suggest you visit first thing in the morning or late on in the afternoon as Tropical World is very popular with school parties.

There is car parking at Tropical World and several bus services from Leeds City Centre stop at Roundhay Park.