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This has really been a year visiting zoos in Sweden and abroad. It’s mostly because we really love to see the reactions from our Little A. However, it is also a way for us adults to learn more about the nature around us. Even though we have visited some major zoos like Kolmården Wildlife Park and Loro Parque, it is the smaller places that have left the best memories. In this case, it’s zoos like Avesta Bison Park and our latest zoo visit – Kungsbyn Djurpark.
After a drive from Vagnhärad around lake Mälaren, Kungsbyn was a great stop. We really wish them the best with the proper reopening next year.
Kungsbyn Djurpark 2019
This small zoo is between Västerås and Enköping, only an hour from Stockholm. Kungsbyn offers already this year a great opportunity to see mostly nordic animals, but there are also a few of Sweden’s more exotic species. The zoo was closed in 2017 due to family-related reasons. Its gates were, however, opened once more this year. The park will have its grand re-opening next year.
Already now there is plenty to see in this zoo. The park is originally a large farm that has been re-fitted into a zoo for visitors. It has large enclosures for the animals. Once you pass through the barn you would usually expect to see horses and cows on the other side and yes, you still do. But there was so much more to explore.
The Safari Tour
Upon our arrival, we first noticed the large pythons the park has. Secondly, we noticed the tractor with two wagons that the park uses for its safari tour. Luckily for us, the wagons were already filling up for the next ride. We jumped aboard and joined on a tour around the park. The safari tour takes the same route that you would otherwise walk and the park manager Henrik told us a lot about what was going on at the park. His engagement and commitment to the animals and the park were impressive. We really appreciated to also hear about the challenges of managing a park of this size.
During the tour, we had the chance to see most of the animals at Kungsbyn and we made several stops to get a better view. The safari tour gives you a bit better view of some enclosures. After 15 minutes we were once more back where we started and it was time to explore the same route on foot.
Animals of Kungsbyn
The walk gave us the chance to see most of the animals from the safari tour as well as the few that were a bit more well-hidden. We walked in the opposite direction and started with getting a great view of the European Bisons. We will tell you a bit more about them further down. After a short walk, we got to the three alpacas. These were popular with Little A as she thought that they were giraffes. Could it be the long necks that they have in common?
Then we reached the animals of the Nordic forests. Well, three of the species. The mouflon, the red deer and the king of the forest – the elk or älg in Swedish and Moose in North America. During the safari tour, one elk was standing directly at the fence, but this time around we were sadly unable to see them.
The walk took us further around the route and we got a close encounter with the park’s two camels before we reached the last of the nordic animals. Almost back at the main barn, we saw the red fox. This usually shy animal was marking its territory and was as well standing directly at the fence. So we got as close as a meter to it), without it taking any greater notice.
Upon our exit, we were for sure really lucky. The park manager Henrik was once more testing his major attractions. This time he had waded out in a small pond at the entrance. He was standing at a small island of rocks with a tree in the middle. The small bridge led the lemurs to across the walking path to the tree and his waiting bananas. So we had two lemurs running above our heads upon our exit.
The European Bison
We wrote some about the European Bison after our visit at Avesta Bison Park earlier this summer. We are still really impressed by this large animal that has been extinct in Sweden for a very long time. Remains have been found dating back to the end of the last ice age. The animal was extinct in Europe at the end of the first world war. Today several zoos across Sweden house and breed the European Bison in order to assist its reintroduction into the wild in other parts of Europe.
Visiting Kungsbyn Djurpark
As mentioned earlier, Kungsbyn is in Kungsåra between Västerås and Enköping and only an hour’s drive from Stockholm.
For opening hours and entrance price, please have a look at their homepage (in Swedish) >>
The zoo houses a restaurant. We did not eat there as we were a bit late for lunch, but it looked very cozy. There is also a big playground for children and parking is free of charge.
This post is not a commercial collaboration with Kungsbyn. It is our way of showing appreciation of the nice activities available around us.
