Parc animalier des Gorges de l'Ardèche

From passion to a profession
The history of our park begins with ours. We are Xavier and Hélène, passionate about animals and horse riding. Firstly a teacher and guide in equestrian tourism, we started our adventure in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. After several years, our passion for animals encouraged us to create our own structure: an animal park.
Our plan was to have an original park that would introduce visitors to animals they are not used to seeing. After touring the animal parks of France and Spain, we fell in love with Ardèche, land of the Aurochs, the prehistoric ox present in the Chauvet caves and whose breed has been reconstructed . It is the emblem of our park. We therefore developed our park project based on this animal, in a place full of character and history.
The beginnings of the Gorges de l’Ardèche Animal Park
In 2017, we installed our cocoon near the Gorges de l'Ardèche Nature Reserve, in an exceptional natural setting. On a plot of more than 10 hectares, located on a former mine and with a water tower, everything was done from A to Z. In July 2018, the work began with the aim of preserving the character of the place and the nature to make it pleasant for both animals and visitors.
In order to ensure the well-being of our animals, we have favored species whose living conditions in nature are the same as in their park. But our project goes further. With the very rich history of the region's prehistoric caves, we have adopted endangered species including the Aurochs, emblem of the park. We are an integral part of the network of conservancies which are committed to perpetuating this species. Unique in the region!

In our beautiful natural and shaded park all our pretty animals await you! You can also enjoy the water play area, activities for all ages, pony rides, the playground. Enough to spend a great day with the family! New for 2025: play in the heart of nature!

2025-03-29

2025-11-30

Acting for sustainable development at the Gorges de l’Ardèche Animal Park means:
To guarantee a healthy and sustainable future for our children, it is essential that everyone applies a few simple daily actions. Unlike other parks that are older, larger, better known and have more resources, we cannot carry out major actions on the other side of the world to save wild species. But we act on our scale to have an eco-responsible footprint at the economic, environmental and social level.
To ensure the operation and sustainability of our park, we have decided to join forces with local companies to make the Ardèche economy work and support small producers. In addition, this ensures that our visitors and our animals receive quality products. Concretely, we work directly with local fodder producers (for our animals' food) and food product suppliers in the region (for the grocery store and the store). The sale of our products takes place in a short circuit, which already allows resource savings (rapid transport of goods), to assure you of the origin of our products, to offer you good value for money and above all to ensure economic benefits at the local level.