South America’s rainforests are quite a few airplane rides away. But 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. No lions, though, phew! From June 2 to September 2, both young and old explorers can stay overnight in this tropical forest.
Campers will prowl around the forest and see Amazonian anacondas, cuddly bearcats and sloths and more up close during a guided nocturnal tour. After that, dinner and a nature-themed movie are served. You’ll also indulge in quintessential camping activities – roasting marshmallows over a campfire and storytime.
Once bellies and minds are full with food and wondrous nature facts, you can fall asleep in comfortable tents to the sound of cooing birds blanketed by a canopy of trees. The fun doesn’t end in the morning. Once you’ve fed yourself a nutritious brekkie 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 to explore 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 it’s not just me; this wildly popular camping experience gets booked up quickly. To keep the experience cosy, and quiet for the critters, only 25 guests per night are allowed. So pre-book here.