La Vanille Nature Park

La Vanille opened in 1985 as a crocodile farm, importing Nile crocodiles from Madagascar, and has since become a wildlife park with a large breeding herd of Aldabra giant tortoises that visitors can walk among in open enclosures, along with monkeys, geckos, bats and a forested walk through a ravine with tree ferns and native plants. The insect collection assembled by the entomologist Jacques Siedlecki holds tens of thousands of specimens from around the world and is a serious display in its own right. Crocodile feeding is a scheduled event. The park sells crocodile meat in its restaurant, which visitors should know before booking, and the tortoise breeding programme supplies other reserves.

What you actually see

• Giant tortoises - the Aldabra breeding herd in open enclosures.
• The crocodile pens - the Nile crocodiles and scheduled feedings.
• The insect collection - the Siedlecki display of specimens.
• The ravine walk - the shaded trail through tree ferns.

When to go

May to December for comfortable walking; the south is humid in summer. Crocodile feeding runs to a set time, usually around midday. Mornings are quieter.

Honest expectations

This is a commercial farm as well as a park, and crocodile meat is served in the restaurant. Enclosures are functional rather than spacious. The site is busy with tour groups in the middle of the day. Mosquitoes in the ravine are persistent.

Nearby

Vallee des Couleurs lies west; Souillac is south.