Food and visitor facilities
There is an on-site café for hot food, plus a shop, toilets and parking. The café is handy during a long visit, though experiences with its food and service vary, so treat it as a convenience rather than a reason to come.
Overview
About Highland Wildlife Park
Why stop
- The drive-through and walk-around habitats make a varied visit.
- Cold-climate wildlife in a Highland setting.
Heads up
- Animal sightings are not guaranteed.
- The spread-out site takes several hours and substantial walking.
Map
Where it is
Loading the Cairngorms map
Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
Food and visitor facilities
3 active Cairngorms alerts
- CautionStorm Boelo high windsStorm Boelo will bring extremely windy weather to the Cairngorms; take extra care and limit time outdoors. - The Park Authority expects the very windy weather to last until Monday 26 October.Official details
- ClosureGlenmore wildfire closures and dangerous treesWildfire damage has closed Allt Mor car park and the path to Sugarbowl/Utsi’s Bridge; keep out of the closed area.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Cairngorms Tour Guide
Your drive to Highland Wildlife Park, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Cairngorms National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Cairngorms audio tourRecorded for this place
Highland Wildlife Park0:00 / 0:30
“The entrance to Highland Wildlife Park is coming up. This is a zoo visit to give half a day, combining a drive-through reserve with habitats you explore on foot.”
Plays as you drive up to Highland Wildlife Park in the Parkwolf Cairngorms Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Where the Ice Melted
- A Swan Family’s First Crossing
- Two Flowers Called Bluebell
- How Ice Hollows a Mountain
- 298 audio storiesacross Cairngorms’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, Reindeer, Osprey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 260 trails, 90 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Highland Wildlife Park
A zoo with two ways throughHighland Wildlife Park is an RZSS zoo near Kincraig, about seven miles south of Aviemore.
Highland Wildlife Park is an RZSS zoo near Kincraig, about seven miles south of Aviemore. It combines a drive-through reserve with walk-around habitats, so you can watch larger-ranging animals from the car, then park and explore the rest of the collection on foot. It suits a half-day or longer, not a quick roadside stop.
Give it a few hoursSet aside several hours.
Set aside several hours. A useful order is to take the drive-through circuit first, then walk the habitats; if time allows, you can do another vehicle lap before leaving. Animal sightings vary, and some animals may be out of view, so don't plan around ticking off every species.
Cold-climate wildlife in the HighlandsThe collection features polar bears, Arctic foxes, Scottish wildcats, snow leopards and wolves,…
The collection features polar bears, Arctic foxes, Scottish wildcats, snow leopards and wolves, alongside larger species such as Eurasian elk, Bukhara deer and Przewalski's horses. The mix puts animals associated with colder regions in a Highland setting. Species and visibility can change over time, but keeper presentations about animals such as wolves and polar bears add context to the visit.
Access and petsMoving between habitats involves substantial walking, with some slopes.
Moving between habitats involves substantial walking, with some slopes. Visitor experiences with wheelchairs, buggies and mobility access differ; if you need a particular route or facility, check the current arrangements with the park before booking. Dogs and other pets are not permitted.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Cairngorms
159 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
63 sightingsReindeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
102 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
37 sightingsBlack GrouseMost seen around 4 AMSighting map
72 sightingsRed GrouseMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
82 sightingsPine MartenMost seen around 9 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Cairngorms. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
