Jungala at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Orlando Florida Today - Central Florida Award Winning Publication
By: Nicole Naser
For nearly 50 years, Busch Gardens has cared for animals and the environment while giving us an adventure park filled with thrills and endless exploration. Now they’ve created a whole new adventure—Jungala—an exotic jungle where you can connect with the animals and the world around you.
This 4-acre attraction is set in the Congo area and invites you to discover exotic creatures, explore a hidden jungle village, and interact with animals up-close. As soon as you enter the lush landscape of towering trees and cascading waterfalls, you’ll see the centerpiece 35-foot rock formation and be transported to a mythical place where both humans and animals live in harmony with nature.
Two of the world’s most endangered species—Bengal tigers and orangutans—will be inches away as you sit in treetop viewing platforms or subterranean caves, or watch from behind natural bamboo screens or from above on a suspension bridge. At the Kulu Canopy, you’ll discover acrobatic gibbons, flying foxes, and mysterious tomistomas—a reclusive crocodilian native to Indonesia and Malaysia.
Of course, you can’t forget the rides! The Wild Surge, a 4-story pneumatic ride, will launch you and 13 other passengers out of a mountain crater and over a breathtaking waterfall. At the Tree Top Trails, kids can climb nets, walk over bridges, and slide through crawl tubes. Big kids can try to find their way through a multi-level maze, while the younger children will splash their way through a water-play area. On the zip-lines at Jungle Flyers, they’ll soar above the treetops on three different flight patterns.
With the creation of Jungala, Busch Gardens not only creates harmony between their guests and nature, but they have also kept a balance with the environment by using eco-friendly building practices. Live Oak trees and smaller trees were relocated, pressure treated lumber was sent to the re-use market, and scrap steel from the Python coaster as well as 9,000 tons of concrete was recycled to create Jungala. Any lumber for new-wood construction on-site was also taken from reforested areas.
So take a day, or two, out of your busy vacation schedule to unite with nature as you never have before. Experience the serenity, thrills, and adventure of Jungala!
.gif)
