Profile
Drakenstein Lion Park near Paarl is a wildlife sanctuary where families can see lions and other animals in a spacious natural setting. It’s an exciting and educational outing for kids who love wildlife and want to learn more about animal conservation.
Our Take
This lion sanctuary is filled with love for these beautiful animals and offers a lifetime home to lions (and other animals) in distress. All of the animals brought to the park are captive bred / hand reared and cannot be rehabilitated to the wild, so they need a safe place where they don’t have to fear abuse and persecution. Besides a large lion population (including rare white lions), you will also find a tiger named Tana.
The park is comprised of 50 acres of land in the Cape Winelands and a perfect sanctuary for animals in need. The Park is also actively involved in improving the quality of life of lions in captivity, locally as well as internationally. The caretakers at the Lion Sanctuary are not involved in commercial breeding or trade.
Fact: Genuine lion sanctuaries are not involved in captive breeding and provide lifetime care to their resident animals. Genuine lion sanctuaries do not offer ‘petting’ opportunities.
You can go and visit the Lion Park any day of the week between 09:30 and 17:00, but if you want to see how the lion’s are being fed, you should visit them during the feeding times. Lion Feeding Times are on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 16:00.
Adopt an Animal
Adopt an additional family member by making a yearly or lifetime donation for one of the animals in the park. The contribution goes directly towards the care costs including food, veterinary care and housing costs. Each adoptive parent will also get an acknowledgement at the animals information board at the Park.
The adoption rates are as follows:
- Lion and Tiger adoptions: Annual R1,000 / Lifetime R10,000
- Caracal adoptions: Annual R300 / Lifetime R3,000
It really makes a difference for the animals at the Park and if you’re heart beats for animals then this is an amazing way of showing your support.
You can meet all the Park animals here: https://lionrescue.org.za/adopt-an-animal
Sleep Over
If you’re brave enough, you can even arrange a stay over for you and the entire family at one of their specially designed safari tents that are situated in the heart of the lion sanctuary. You don’t have to worry at night. All the tents are surrounded by lion enclosures and you’re 100% safe. Each tent has it’s own en-suite bathroom and is fully equipped with linen and towels. You can check out the availabilities online and directly make a booking on their website: https://book.nightsbridge.com/26982
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1 Review on “Drakenstein Lion Park in Paarl”
Judith (@cptwithkids)
We love the fact that they absolutely respect the habitat of their animals and that they do not tolerate any disturbance or irritation from outside visitors. So you shouldn’t make any loud noises, try to get the lion’s attention or feed them. It is clearly not a petting zoo and no interaction between visitors and animals takes place. So can simply visit the park to watch these beautiful animals in their forever home and help to make a positive impact by contributing towards their well-being. For younger children this might be a boring activity as there is not much to do in the park itself. There is a small play area with two swings and a slide and lots of space to walk around, but as they are required to make as little noise as possible, kids might not enjoy it as much as the adults.
They do sell ice cream and cool drinks at the reception area and also sell some plush toys in case you need to bribe the kids during your stay 🙂 We did enjoy it as parents and loved walking around and watching these beautiful animals.