We went to the Quezon City Parks and Wildlife Center primarily to attend Joe Inoue's Meet and Greet with his Filipino fans (story here). After the event, we decided to go around the place since it's been a while since we've been here and it appears that a lot has changed. On the way to the venue, we passed a lot of people having a picnic or just walking around and relaxing.I was surprised at the entrance fees: Adults-P8, Kids-P5 and parking was only P15! Their security was lax I think because they let us pass without asking for the payment first and we had to walk to the ticket booth to pay for the tickets. What if someone went straight to parking and didn't go back to pay for the tickets? Hmm.. Nobody asked for our ticket when we left...
Anyway, we got a map of the place from the man handling the ticket sales although you can still ask for it from the Information Office. A map is helpful because this place is huge and you'll be walking around so it will save you the time and energy if you really know where you're headed. If you check out the map, we had to walk all the way from the Parking Area to the Tea House. On the way back, we walked a longer path considering that we went to see all the sights east of the Main Road surrounding the Administration Office Building.
The lagoon near the Tea House was quite refreshing because it was tranquil and breezy. There were also clean restrooms nearby. I think the Tea House is a venue for wedding events too.
You might say that the highlight of our Parks and Wildlife adventure was the Wildlife Rescue Center. There were a lot of different birds like eagles, parrots and parakeets. There were also some snakes, crocodiles and turtles.
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| This croc was creeping me out as he/she stares at you. |
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| Burmese Python |
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| Albino Python |
I was surprised that they had a tiger there and it was freely moving within its cage. Usually the tigers I see just lie down and sleep :)
After seeing all these rescued animals, we went on our way. They actually closed the gates on us and for a minute there I thought we made the wrong turn somehow and couldn't find the exit haha The guard said they closed the gates so that no one can enter anymore and they're just waiting for everyone inside to go out :)
I'm sorry I couldn't remember all the names of the birds. I do know that there was a Lawin! haha I'm sure I would love to go back and explore the rest of the area some more.
The park is easily accessible from the Quezon Memorial Circle. There are many jeepneys that ply the route to the Quezon City Hall (as a landmark) then make your way across to North Avenue. I think there's also an entrance through the R-7 road across the Lung Center. We were coming from UP which is why we came through the North Avenue gate.
For P8 per adult and P5 for children/students, this is a great alternative for families to spend time together and it's right within the city yet it doesn't seem to be when you're inside the compound. You guys should try it.
