A rainforest in the heart of the desert? Why not? When you’re in Dubai, the city of dreams, close to nothing is impossible.
First launched in 2016, The Green Planet in City Walk was designed with just that aim in mind, to recreate a tropical rainforest in Dubai, and four years later, it continues to be a hotspot for tourists and residents looking for an escape.
City walk
A project launched by Meeras, one of Dubai’s most well-known real estate companies, City Walk is an urban design-inspired neighbourhood in Jumeirah. Featuring restaurants, hotels, low-rise residential buildings, retail stores, and leisure activities, the development offers a chic, green living community.
Inspired by European design, the residential and urban area dons European-style pedestrian boulevards, murals and street art and stunning architectural design.
The venue is also home to some of the Emirate’s most well-known attractions, such as the Green Planet, a tropical rainforest in Dubai and Coco-Cola Arena, the region's largest multi-purpose indoor venue. Aside from the hotspots, it also features a cinema, play areas and a delectable range of indoor and outdoor dining options. The versatile neighbourhood makes it an attractive spot for educational institutions such as the campus of the Canadian University Dubai.
Whether it’s a relaxing evening, a day out with family, or a dinner date, City Walk is the chicest spot in town for all of the above.
For more information, visit City Walk.
Green Planet Location, Timings and Entry price
Timings
Monday - Friday: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Saturday - Sunday: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Price
The standard entry price at The Green Planet is AED 140 per person if booked online and AED 160 at the gate and the VIP pass is AED 199. The entry ticket includes 4 hours of free parking that must be validates before exiting. Each additional hour is charged at AED 20.
You can also book tickets at other websites such as Platinum list and Groupon at a discount.
Contact
Phone: 800 7699
Email: info@thegreenplanetdubai.com
For more information, visit the Green Planet.
Location: City Walk, Jumeirah, Dubai
The Green Planet
Like City Walk, The Green Planet is a project undertaken and developed by Meeras. The indoor rainforest breaks multiple records by being the region's only bio-dome with 3000 plants and animals and features the world’s largest man-made tree standing at 82 feet.
“We hope to showcase science in action and instill a sense of appreciation amongst visitors so that we can understand our eco system better in order to preserve it.”
-Jean-Marc Bled, general manager of Leisure and Entertainment at Meraas for Gulf Business.
The bio-dome is divided into four sections into separate levels giving visitors a chance to explore the different roles that flora and fauna play in the ecosystem of rainforests. The four levels that the venue is divided into are the Canopy, the Midstory, the Forest Floor, and the Flooded Rainforest. The experience for visitors begins at the topmost floor, from where they descend downwards through a ramp circling the tree and exploring the different sections.
The Canopy
At the top-most level of the attraction, the Canopy, visitors are greeted by a wide range of colourful birds that are sometimes perched upon the artificial tree that stands tall in the middle of the attraction and other times are found soaring through the dome-like structure. Aside from the airborne Aves, other life forms such as reptiles, animals and insects are also found. These include a variety from tarantulas and sloths to kingfishers and kookaburra and even feature a bat cave that is home to the “Seba” bats.
The Midstory
The midstory is named after the term the "understory" of a forest, which is the layer of vegetation that contains trees that lie between the tallest and shortest trees in a forest. These trees are often found to have large leaves to absorb the meagre amount of sunlight that passes through the Canopy. The floor mimics this environment by creating a similar set-up with a moist floor and shade featuring vines, orchids and ferns on the trunk of the central tree. This layer is home to multiple animals, such as monkeys, snakes, and tree-climbing cats.
The Forest Floor
The second floor, more commonly known as the ‘rainforest floor’, is true to its name. It’s a damp environment mimicking the biome of the floor of a rainforest. A waterfall cascades down to this floor and houses a variety of reptiles and amphibians behind a glass structure. Some reptiles that you can find on this level include the snake neck lizard, bearded dragon, frilled neck lizard, and blue tongue skink.
The Flooded rainforest
Moving on to the underwater feature at the Green Planet, this level is a floor-to-ceiling aquarium that is home to a variety of sea life such as arapaima and arowana and piranhas and stingrays. Walking amidst the sea creatures through the aquarium, one glance towards the sky will give visitors a full view of the Green Planet from below.
Architecture
The minds behind designing the specialised biome of the Green Planet, Grout McTavish architects, put in consistent effort to construct a structure that can replicate the living habitats of the plants and animals. The glass roof and walls allow natural sunlight and UV light to fall upon plants boosting healthy plant growth. The temperature and climate inside the structure is controlled and regulated through a carefully designed cooling and humidifying system. Additionally, measures were taken by the management to ensure water conservation.
The world's largest tree stands majestic in the centre of the room and was created by design which required a fusion of art and engineering. The development was built with the help of skilled local artisans.
Experiences at the Green Planet
The Green Planet has multiple experiences that you can book to interact with certain life forms. While walking through the various levels, however, it is not advisable to touch the animals in the absence of the staff that have been professionally trained to handle them. In multiple instances, you may come across staff that bring out reptiles, animals or birds for visitors to interact with and sometimes even touch. The staff are also the perfect people to ask questions you have about the various creatures as they are fully equipped to answer any questions.
Creatures of The Night
Drop by to visit the tropical creatures at the Green Planet and Spend a day observing how they live their day to day life. This experience is conducted in complete darkness underground, where the facility managers have full control over the day and night cycles. The specialised lifestyle alters the creature's lifestyle to the opposite of the Emirate's lifestyle. The underground animals' experience night when the levels above are exposed to sunlight and experience day when darkness falls in Dubai.
Pricing: this experience is included with the general admission fee at no additional cost.
Bird Encounter
Housing some endangered species such as Toucans, the green planet offers a bird encounter with them and other birds like Caiques and other small parrots. Visitors can interact with the birds in the presence of trained biologists and click pictures with them. The professionals on sight also guide visitors on best care practices for the birds and their history and habitat.
Pricing: Starts at AED 290 per person, including entry ticket
Timing: 11:30 AM
Duration: 20-minute encounter of up to 5 participants per session
Reptile Encounter
From lizards to snakes and geckos, visitors have the chance to meet and interact with reptiles up-close in the presence of trained biologists. They may also snap a few pictures and learn all about their lifestyle from the professionals present during the session.
Pricing: Starts at AED 290 per person, including entry ticket
Timings: 12:30 PM, 2:30 Pm, and 4:00 PM every Saturday and Sunday.
Duration: 20-minute encounter of up to 8 participants per session
Sloth Encounter
Native to the rainforest canopies of Central and South America now find their home in the desert of the Middle East. Aside from viewing sloths during a visit, visitors can also interact with them through this special experience. They may also snap a few pictures and learn all about their lifestyle from the trained biologists present during the session.
The biologists also hold a ‘Sloth Biologist Talk,’ once daily at 05:00 PM.
Pricing: Starts at AED 335 per person, including entry ticket
Timings: 01:30 PM and 3:30 PM.
Duration: A 30-minute encounter of up to 8 participants per session
Sugar Glider Encounter
Visitors can meet these fluffy wide-eyed creatures in the presence of trained biologists. The nocturnal animals are named after the thin flap behind their arms that allows them to glide from tree to tree. Guests may also snap a few pictures with them and learn all about their lifestyle from the professionals present during the session.
Pricing: Starts at AED 290 per person, including entry ticket
Timing: 04:30 PM
Duration: 20-minute encounter of up to 5 participants per session
Snorkelling with Piranhas
Piranhas, literally meaning ‘fish tooth’, is a fitting name for these creatures that devour whole chickens and turkeys within minutes. The Green planet provides visitors with the chance to swim amongst 1000 of these sea creatures, red-bellied Piranhas in specific.
Although they sound terrifying to the layman, Piranhas are scavengers and don’t prey on people. The safety of participants are hence intact during the experience.
Before the experience, guests are provided with wetsuits, towels, snorkels and masks that must be returned after the experience. There are also locker rooms and showers available on site. The guests are also briefed by expert biologists.
Few things to note:
- Piranhas will be fed 2 meters away from snorkelers at a safe distance
- Guests will be snorkeling at the surface of the aquarium only (Guest will not be diving down under the water or using scuba gear)
- Minimum age requirement for the experience is 6 years
- Guests must feel confident in the water and be capable of climbing down and up a small ladder
The above notes are provided by the Green Planet and can be found at thegreenplanetdubai.com.
Pricing: AED 350 per person, including entry ticket
Timings: 04:00 - 05:00 PM
Duration: 1-hour encounter of up to 4 participants per session
Zookeeper for the day
A once in a lifetime experience of getting up close and personal with animals at the Green Planet. The experience will include a guided tour through laboratories by an expert team. The experience also includes a peek into the behind-the-scenes magic at the Green Planet and a guide on how to nurture the species found at the location. The experience is recommended by the Green Planet for age 8 years and above.
Pricing: AED 410 per person, including entry ticket
Timings: Weekdays at 03:30 PM - 06:30 PM and Weekends at 08:30 AM - 11:30 AM and 03:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Park rules
- Children must be supervised always, by an adult or someone 16 yrs or older.
- Food and beverage is not allowed inside the facility.
- The Green Planet is a smoke-free facility.
- Respectful attire must be worn always. The Green Planet reserves the right to refuse admittance to guests with inappropriate attire.
The following rules are sourced from the Green Planet official website. A list of all the rules can be found at thegreenplanetdubai.com.
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