The Cornelle wildlife Park, an oasis in the middle of the Po Valley

During the last weekend, visiting grandparents in Bergamo we took advantage of a beautiful sunny Sunday not too hot to bring our son to a place where he wanted to go for a long time .. the Parco Faunistico Le Cornelle. To be honest I was very skeptical about this trip because the zoos have always made a huge sadness to me, I never liked to see all those animals outside their natural habitat and closed in cages. But at the moment we do not have the possibility to leave for a safari in Africa and so we decided to satisfy Alessandro in this way.

For anyone who grew up in the province of Bergamo or in the surrounding areas, the Cornelle Park is a place linked to childhood. We have all been there at least once as a child, for a Sunday trip with the family or with the school or with the “oratorio” during the summer school, each of us has a beautiful memory of the time spent in this magical place in the eyes of a child. The Park was founded in 1981 thanks to a certain Signor Benedetti on the eastern bank of the river Brembo, in Valbrembo, a few kilometers from the center of Bergamo. Signor Benedetti was an alpine with a passion for animals that he shared with his wife Luigina, and their beginning was with the presence of a few animals then, given the success of the initiative, the spaces have widened as well as the flora and the fauna of the Park. I must admit that compared to how I remembered it has really improved a lot, it is well supplied and organized, as well as clean and with healthy animals.

The spaces for the animals are large and well-kept. The Park is spread over an area of ​​126,000 square meters, and welcomes, including mammals, reptiles and birds, as many as 120 species. The Park is strictly accessible on foot following an ideal itinerary that leads to a direct and exciting encounter with the animals, coming from all over the world, and their habitats. The fences are quite low (naturally in case of non-dangerous species), so as to allow visitors to get as close as possible to the animals, always, of course, using common sense. The Park is divided into four thematic areas: the Oasis of the Cheetahs, dedicated to the superb feline; the large greenhouse called the Island of Aldabra, which reconstructs the environment of the Seychelles and its luxuriant nature; the Selva tropicale, with the pedestrian path between ponds and vegetation; and finally the Savana, recently renovated to guarantee the welfare of protected species. You can request a guided tour, which varies by duration, in fact, you can join the one-hour visit, two or four, always accompanied by specialized personnel.

The queen of the park is unquestionably the white tiger even though each animal has its own charm. The monkeys in particular are very playful and attract children and adults. One of the areas that I most appreciated was the Selva Tropicale, with alligators, cranes, pelicans and flamingos (these in particular were absolutely charming, they seemed came out of a picture). Very funny even the giant testuggini that seemed to like the cuddles of children because they stayed lying down near the low fence waiting for them! A very sweet show was given to us by the rhinoceros family (or at least in our imagination they looked like mum, father and baby) who, after having cuddled to each other, immersed themselves in the pool playing with the splashes of water.

There are several picnic areas inside the park, so if you want to save money it's a good idea to pack a picnic lunch. Alternatively, you can choose between bars, a restaurant, a self-service (not particularly expensive and of good quality) and a pizzeria. Inside there is also a playground for children and the bathrooms are equipped with changing tables. Outside a large parking allows the parking of vehicles. In short, nothing missing in this park.. just one negative note in my opinion, there is a train that, with an additional cost of a few euros, allows you to go around the park. It is a comfortable and nice idea but it leaves a tremendous smell of diesel and it has a noisy whistle that ruins the peace of the park

Parco Faunistico "Le Cornelle"

Via Cornelle, 14, 24030 Scano Al Brembo BG, Italy