This hundred-hectare zoological park and resort complex is owned by the former Ilocos governor Luis “Chavit” Singson<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Dubbed as the Home of The Big Cats in Vigan<\/b><\/strong>, they take pride in their 8 Bengal Tigers, 6 White Lions, 2 Leopards, among other kinds of animals, even those that are endemic to the Philippines.<\/p>\n Animals like\u00a0ostrich, spotted deer, and donkeys<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0roam freely in an open area where visitors can interact with them closely. There are also cages housing other animals like camels, zebras, and reptiles<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The main attractions of Baluarte Zoo, of course, are the white lion<\/b><\/strong>s<\/b><\/strong>, tigers, and leopard<\/b><\/strong>s<\/b><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Tourists are allowed to get close to them and have a memorable moment captured in a photo. There\u2019s no need to worry about getting bitten because these big cats are tamed by animal caretakers.<\/p>\n Live animal shows for tigers, lions, and reptiles are also scheduled four times daily.<\/p>\n Aside from the animals, another attraction inside\u00a0Baluarte Zoo is the Safari Gallery<\/b><\/strong>, which\u00a0<\/b><\/strong>features a wide display of Singson\u2019s collection and memorabilia of his hobby as a hunter.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll see a display of preserved wild animals Singson got from his hunting activities in foreign countries. If you are not a fan of animal hunting, you may choose not to enter the gallery.<\/p>\n By the end of your tour, strike a pose at the Baluarte signage while being surrounded by the towering dinosaur figures.<\/p>\n For those who want to tour around the zoo, a guided tour via electronic cab<\/strong> worth Php 50\u00a0<\/strong>is available.<\/p>\n How to get here<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n General Information<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n Address: <\/b><\/strong>Quirino Boulevard, Tamag, Vigan City, Ilocos Sur A version of this appeared in Philippine Primer’s Japanese (Vol. 104) and English (Vol. 11) magazines. One attraction that should make its cut to your Vigan travel list is this safari adventure resort that’s just 10 minutes away from Calle Crisologo. Baluarte Resort and Mini Zoo is a must-visit spot in the province due to the exciting activities that people of all ages will surely enjoy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,278,69,72,1700,1870],"tags":[281,759,1737,1738,1740,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810,1811,1812,1815,1816],"class_list":["post-10025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-park","category-vigan","category-animal-park","category-ilocos-sur","category-philippines","category-ilocos-sur-x-vigan-2019","tag-ilocos-sur","tag-zoo","tag-vigan-city","tag-vigan-travel","tag-vigan-spots","tag-animals","tag-baluarte-vigan","tag-baluarte-zoo","tag-home-of-big-cats","tag-lions","tag-tigers","tag-leopards","tag-baluarte-resort-and-mini-zoo","tag-baluarte-resort-and-mini-zoo-ilocos-sur"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10025"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14734,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10025\/revisions\/14734"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/Baluarte_edited3.jpg\")
Baluarte Zoo, an animal sanctuary in Vigan for an interactive wildlife experience<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/Untitled-design.jpg\")
From left to right clockwise:\u00a0Camel, Donkey, Spotted Deer, Ostrich<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/white-lion.jpg\")
King, one of the white lion pets in Baluarte zoo<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/Baluarte_edited4.jpg\")
The Safari Gallery is an exhibit of Singson\u2019s hunting memento of preserved wild animals and paintings<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/Baluarte_edited-e1549014243766.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/primer.com.ph\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/Baluarte_edited.jpg\")
There is no entrance fee<\/strong> to\u00a0wander at this\u00a0amazing animal sanctuary. You can even have a family picnic\u00a0on the green landscape or dine at Baluarte\u2019s in-house cafeteria.<\/p>\n\n
\nBusiness hours: <\/b><\/strong>7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
\nContact information:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0(077) 722-7186
\nAdmission:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0Free, but there is a Php 50 fee for the e-cab tour around the zoo.<\/p>\n
\n
\nWords and photos by Deneca Ordinanza<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"