The amazing indoor rainforest 'Green Planet' is located in the trendy city walk area of Dubai. A fully immersive living eco-system, the indoor rainforest is home to over 3,000 species of plants, insects, and animals. 
The forest is not a resource for us, it is life itself. It is the only place for us to live. -Evaristo Nugkuag Ikanan (Click to tweet)
The first of its kind in the region, the attraction is a hive of interactive experiences for tourists and residents alike and with the sounds of the tropical birds, your instantly transported far away from the deserts of Dubai to Amazonian rainforests!
We visited the attraction when it first opened its doors early September and decided it was time for another visit. Last weekend we spent a good 2 hours slowly wandering around the sphere, examining the beauty of the living and breathing infrastructure.
As we entered, we were lucky enough to catch the arrow fish enjoying lunchtime, an impressive show that sees the tiny arrow fish, squirt jets of water into the overhead vines to knock down insects and flora. Past the huge tanks of prehistoric fish (the ones with tiny teeth), we were guided to the 'Willy Wonka' type glass elevators which take you straight up to the top floor the Rainforest canopy, which provides a spectacular panoramic view of the impressive dome.
As soon as we left the lift, we were greeted by two bright blue Hyacinth macaws, this pair of fantastic birds looked happy to show off to the onlookers happily snapping photographs of these magnificent birds. One word of warning though, these birds are LOUD!
They squark like nothing I've ever heard before! If you have little ones this may be a little unsettling to an unsuspecting child and please remember toddlers fingers = Macaw snacks so eyes on your kids.
The dominating centrepiece of the attraction is a huge 25-metre Amazonian tree. Not just any old tree but the largest man-made tree in the world, the knowledgeable staff who can be found everywhere, confirmed that the tree has been planted with various canopy creepers and will be alive and flourishing in a few years time.
Before you begin a descent around the tree, it's over to the insect section which houses various tanks of all kinds of lovely creepy crawlies -bugs insects, spiders and bees. I love BUGS and was happy to collect some snaps of these pretties including the jewel beetles and giant tarantula! Over to the footbridge spanning the huge arms of the tree, no need to worry, it's perfectly stable, there were no wobbly areas as the bridges are fixed firmly to the side of the structure and the downward spiral is slow and friendly to anyone who may be pushing a buggy or less able than others.
As you pass through the branches you get the chance to marvel at the bird residents that fly at speed across you and to the nests above. We managed to get up close to the stunning Toucan and the tropical birds are very much the main event here and worth the entrance fee alone.
As you may your way down the slightly sloping trail, you get to see some more interactive feeding times and exhibits we go to hold a beautiful tiny tree snake and stroke live hissing cockroaches (no joke!) We did catch a glance at the sleeping sloth but decided we left her alone to sleep in peace. The whole immersive aspect is really entertaining.
Once you reach the bottom of the spectacular tree and have the chance to look at some rather interesting lizards, frogs and snakes and pass under the waterfall which adds to the adventure. If you want you can take the lift back up to the top and do it all again or if not you take the narrow escalator to the exit via the gift shop (of course!)
The gift shop was a little disappointing and didn't offer much in the way of grown-up gifts (couples with no kids like me and my hubby we don't really need any more plastic bug's or mugs with frogs on the side, so we left with no purchases.
What the shop did offer seemed reasonably enough priced and we marvelled at the fact that the shop staff did not hound us to buy anything, which is a rarity!
I think to finish off the day, it would be a great idea after visiting the Green Planet to head over to the Dubai mall for lunch at the rainforest cafe, a befitting end to your rainforest adventure.
Price wise the entrance fee is great value at AED95 for adults and AED70 - Residents can get a little discount by producing our emirates ids.
Opening Hours
Saturday – Wednesday 10:00 am – 06:00 pm
Thursday & Friday 10:00 am – 08:00pm
Visit the official website for further information: http://www.thegreenplanetdubai.com/en
This beautiful oasis in the middle of Dubai is well worth a visit! To beat the inevitable queues get there as early as possible and avoid Saturday lunchtimes.
Let me know your thoughts on the best places to visit in Dubai - Please stay tuned for more visual guides to our favourite places in the UAE!
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