This place is for animal lovers, old and young.
We visited the Eselpark Maltatal (Donkey park in the Malta valley) in August during our last holiday in Austria. It is located in the beautiful Malta valley in Carinthia. I have to say the donkeys have an amazing view from their pasture – cornfields, forests, mountains…
This is a hands-on experience. The park is basically a farm with a donkey pasture available to public. Besides donkeys there is a goat enclosure, which is also available to walk in. There are peacocks and other small animals too. You can see more animals behind the fence, for example a llama, horses etc. For a full list of animals check their website.
The main attraction is probably the donkey enclosure. Many big and small donkeys walk around or rest on the ground, let people pet them and sometimes they bray. I was surprised how patient especially the small donkeys are with little children as kids can sometimes be a bit intense with the contact.
Our little son was still more interested in just running around than interacting with the animals, but we petted some donkeys as well.
Because a lot of donkeys produce plenty of dung, they need to remove it regularly. To do so, they use a small golf ball collecting vehicle as the donkey dung is of a similar size. Clever, isn’t it? It’s very fast and efficient. During our visit the mini car went around several times.
Children can finish their visit at a playground located in the middle of the park. There is also a small shop with beverages. If your children are bigger and you can let them roam and discover on their own, you can sit in a reading corner with a book borrowed from a nice wooden book-swap shelf.
Unfortunately, it became cloudy during our visit and a distant thunder signalized a coming storm. We managed to see everything and enjoy the animals, but we had to run to the car from the playground as the storm came across the mountains and it started to rain.
If you are on holiday in the Carinthia region, consider visiting the donkey park, especially if you have children!
The entrance fee is 6€ for adults and 5€ for children, but according to their website the ticket is valid for the whole season. So if you live somewhere close or just plan to go more than once, it’s a bargain!
Hee-haw!
Eselpark Maltatal, eselpark.at
Tasting the World - On the road, with stuffed hand luggage and face. Camera in my hand. 