GaiaZOO

GaiaZOO opened in 2005 on the edge of Kerkrade on ground shaped by the Limburg coalfield - the site is a former spoil area and the relief it left is used deliberately, with the enclosures set into slopes and valleys and the visitor route running along contours so the animals are seen at eye level or from above rather than through fences on flat ground. It covers about twenty-two hectares. The collection is arranged by region - African savanna, South American rainforest with a walk-through hall, Asian sections - and the zoo runs European breeding programmes for several species. A separate section, GaiaPark, holds a large walk-through aviary. It was one of the projects that came out of the region's reinvention after the mines closed in the 1970s, along with the neighbouring Rolduc abbey and the mining museums, and the post-industrial context is visible around it.

What you actually see

• A zoo in mining terrain - enclosures set into slopes left by the coalfield.
• Level and overhead viewing - the route following contours rather than flat fences.
• Regional sections - savanna, rainforest and Asian areas with walk-through halls.
• A post-mining project - part of the region's reinvention after the pits closed.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

The site is hilly and involves real walking. Busy in school holidays. It is a zoo, with the welfare questions that raises. The surrounding area is post-industrial.

Nearby

Rolduc abbey is close; Aachen is across the German border.