Traveling in Bulgaria

Nestled on the edge of the village of Leskovets, only 14 km from Pernik and 40 km from Sofia, Alice Zoo is a wonderful place to meet and play with animals. The park was founded in June 2019 and was named after the granddaughter of the founder – Alice, and since 2020 my family has been a regular visitor.

The benefits of children’s contact with animals are numerous, and over time we have witnessed that our children became calmer, communicate better and are even more confident around animals. We prefer to come during the week when we can literally spend the whole day in the park. During weekends and holidays, the stay is limited to an hour and a half, and the children do not have enough time to caress all the animals or play in the playground, which recently has increased with a huge trampoline.

When you enter the park, you find yourself in front of a wonderful children playground with slides, swings, a sandbox and several children’s houses with many toys. Behind them, many benches and tables are conveniently located on a huge lawn, turning the yard into a wonderful place for picnics and outings.

The zoo is divided into two parts – the first one is home of numerous ducks, turkeys, swans, hens and roosters that calmly cluck and greet visitors. There are also rabbits, foxes and even kangaroos behind cages, which you can feed with the help and permission of the staff. In the other part of the park there are one of the friendliest and most photographed animals in the park – alpacas. They get along not only with the mountain goats that roam the steep yard, but also with the agile emu, which is quite curious. However, the alpacas are the best at getting along with tourists and posing for lots of photos and staying to be petted on their shaggy thick fur. In the summer they are sheared like lambs, and the Indians of Peru call their fur “thick silk.” In the “Alpacas’ yard” there are cages with snub-nosed bears, peacocks, llamas and donkeys. Visitors can feed all these animals with straw and in return pet them.

All the animals in Leskovets Zoo are friendly, even the swan that lightly pecked us and the goose that pulled my skirt. It is clear that the animals are looked after with love and this feeling is transmitted to the visitors who, regardless of whether they are children or adults, leave the park – calmer, in a good mood and energized by their contact with animals. It’s good to have more places like this in order to avoid the crowds in the weekends when the feelings can be a little different.

It is wonderful to watch how the park and the animals grow, along with our children.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE LESKOVES ZOO:

Location: the village of Leskovets is located 14 km from Pernik and 40 km from Sofia. In the village there are signs directing to the park.
Altitude: 730 m
Entrance fee: price for adults is BGN 8, for children BGN 5.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/people/Зоокът-Лесковец/100063621336536