Al Nu'man Zoo Barka, Oman

In a hope to entertain the two expat boys during this summer, we headed to Barka, one of the emerging tourist spot in Oman, an hour or so away from Muscat to visit Al Nu'man Zoo.  Al Nu'man Zoo is the only zoo in Oman which is open to public visitors, and thus we had been hearing for ages. Being animal lovers, the boys were excited to visit the zoo with high expectations of seeing different kind of animals. 


Passing through an old fort Omanis called Al Nu'man fort from 17th century, we reached the place of the zoo. 

Plenty of parked visitors' car were at the place, proving the place is really worth visiting. At the entrance, I was surprised to find out that entrance fee only costs 500 Baiza per visitor! Entering the vicinity of the zoo, we were greeted by a well-organized area which offers different family entertainment facilities such as children's play area, coffee shops, gallery, clean pathways with electronic signboards, pools and yes, animals. We went through each cage/cells of the animals to check and take photos.

Phyton Snake

Tiger

Kangaroo

Eagle

Vulture

The zoo is fairly stuffed with different kinds of animals amazingly collected. As I had read around, the founder is collecting the animals from around the globe. And the real challenge is to make the foreign animals survive the heat of the country's temperature especially this time of the year. However, animals were fairly maintained contrary to some critics citing otherwise.

Ostrich

Parrot

Sleeping Raccoon

Wild Dog

Lion

Gazelle

Peacock

White Peacock

Goats

Goat Horn

Horse/Pony

Parrot

A mini-museum is also available depicting some of Omani heritage like local costumes, currency, traditions and previous decades vintage. Seeing these old stuff brought back nostalgic feelings as these depict life back in the early 80's era. Thanks to the person who made these collections possible; indeed a very thoughtful and deliberate act as well as emotional.

After a wonderful zoo visit, we headed to the beautiful and refreshing Sawadi beach nearby. Barka is such one good place out of Muscat for a nature trip. Indeed one good afternoon spent with the expat boys outdoor.

If you want to book a hotel or farm in Barka close to Al Nu'man Zoo check this cheapest hotel booking site.