tooSouth America’s rainforests are quite a few airplane rides away. Luckily, we have Green Planet in City Walk – a living, breathing, indoor rainforest right in the heart of Dubai. Now with the return of their popular ‘Camping in the Rainforest’ experience, you can sleep in a mighty jungle surrounded by 3000 plants and animals.
From June 1 to October 31, both young and old explorers can stay overnight in this tropical forest every Friday and Saturday. Campers will prowl around the forest and see Amazonian anacondas, cuddly bearcats, sloths and more up close during a guided scavenger hunt and nocturnal tour.
Afterwards, dig into dinner, nature-themed movies and games. You’ll also indulge in quintessential camping activities – roasting marshmallows over a campfire and storytime. Once bellies and minds are full of food and wondrous nature facts, you can fall asleep in comfortable tents and hammocks to the sounds of cooing birds blanketed by a canopy of trees.
The fun doesn’t end in the morning. Once you’ve fed yourself a nutritious buffet breakfast at the Green Planet Cafe, you will get to feed the forest creatures in an interactive animal feeding session. That’s followed by an immersive behind-the-scenes tour of how the biodome works and why it’s an engineering marvel.
This family-friendly after-hours experience is a perfect summer escape. I’d take being surrounded by exotic plant and animal species over exotic brands in a mall any day. And I’m not the only one; this wildly popular camping experience books up quickly. To keep the experience cosy, and quiet for the critters, only 25 guests per night are allowed. So pre-book here.