43.36° N · 3.84° W · Cabárceno Nature Park
It is not a zoo or a natural park: it is 750 hectares of a former open-cast mine, with huge enclosures for animals from all five continents, toured by car along more than 20 km of roads and on foot along paths. A quarter of an hour from Santander.
Who offers it
Independent companies: you book with them, on their terms. Prices are as they publish them and may change.
Step by step
Enter through Obregón, park and start with the elephants and the savannah.
One line or both: the elephant line takes about 45 minutes and the rhino line about 15.
At 12:00 or 16:00, depending on the calendar.
With a stop for lunch in the bear area.
Cabárceno fills the hollow left by centuries of iron mining in the Pisueña valley: a landscape of karst rocks, lakes and gorges where Cantur has built enclosures of several hectares for elephants, brown bears, giraffes, rhinos and lions. You drive round in your own car, stopping at the car parks of each area, and walk down to the viewpoints and paths.
| Season | Adult (13+) | Child (4–12) |
|---|---|---|
| Low: 2 January – 29 March and 1 November – 30 December | €25 | €15 |
| Mid: 7 April – 30 June and October | €35 | €20 |
| High: Easter, July–September, long weekends and public holidays | €45 | €25 |
Free up to age 3. There is an annual friend card: €80 individual and €170 family. You cannot enter without a valid ticket, printed or on your phone; the proof of purchase is not valid.
Open all year except 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January. The hours are entry hours (ticket offices close): in July and August, 9:00 to 18:00; from 1 March to 1 November, 9:30 to 18:00; from 2 November to 28 February, 9:30 to 17:00 on weekdays and until 18:00 at weekends, public holidays and long weekends. Once inside you can stay until sunset, but some animals are brought in from 17:45.
It is about 15 minutes from Santander, in the Pisueña valley. The recommended access is the north entrance at Obregón; you can also enter through the village of Cabárceno, by Lake Acebo (high season only) and through Sobarzo, to the south. Inside there are car parks beside each area.
The elephants, the brown bear enclosure, the savannah of giraffes and ostriches, the primates and the reptile house. The gondola lets you see it from above, and the birds of prey display is the moment of the day children like most.
Inside there is a café and a burger place beside the bear area, and picnic areas. The Los Osos restaurant is temporarily closed. You cannot take food and drink from one outlet to another.
They may enter, on a lead, but not restaurants or cafés, the internal bus, the reptile house or the sea lion pool walkway. In the gondola, only in a closed carrier.
Map
What you have around the starting point.
More to do
Itineraries
Tips
From November to March the ticket costs €25, almost half what it does in August, and there are fewer cars.
You skip the ticket office queue on long weekends and in summer.
From 2 November 2026 to 28 February 2027 the two lines open alternately for maintenance.
Questions
In 2026, adults pay €25 in low season, €35 in mid and €45 in high. Children aged 4 to 12, €15 to €25. Free up to age 3.
Yes. There are over 20 km of roads inside, with car parks in each area.
Yes, on a lead, with restrictions in restaurants, the internal bus, the reptile house and the gondola.
A full day, from opening to the afternoon.
Yes, every day except 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/cantabria/cabarceno-nature-park/things-to-do/cabarceno-park-drive
