Safaripark Beekse Bergen · Since 1968
More than 1 500 animals across 110+ species roam the open plains and woodland of one of Europe’s largest safari parks — an hour’s drive south of Amsterdam, in the wooded heart of Brabant.
The park in numbers
Beekse Bergen has been on the same wooded site near Hilvarenbeek since 1968. Over almost six decades the park has grown from a roadside zoo to a 120-hectare reserve where most species share large open paddocks the way they would on the savanna.
Animals
The park is best known for its large herding herbivores and big cats, but is also a haven for less famous Africans — from antelope species you have probably never heard of to wading birds and reptiles.
A small pride lives on a fenced-off section of the savanna where you can watch them from the safari vehicles. The matriarchal social structure of lions makes them one of the most-photographed residents of the park.
The matriarch-led elephant herd is the heart of Beekse Bergen. The park participates in the European breeding programme (EEP) and several calves have been born here.
A subspecies of giraffe that is endangered in the wild. Beekse Bergen contributes to its conservation through coordinated European breeding.
A small group of white rhino is part of an international conservation programme. Despite their size they are surprisingly gentle browsers.
The fastest land animal lives in a wide enclosure adjacent to the savanna plain. The cheetahs are part of the European Breeding Programme for the African subspecies.
A small herd shares the open savanna with antelope and giraffe. Each zebra’s stripe pattern is unique, like a fingerprint.
Four ways to safari
Beekse Bergen is unusual in offering four distinct safari experiences on the same site. Each gives a different perspective on the animals — from the privacy of your own car to a slow walking trail.
Drive through 7 kilometres of safari road in your own car. Stay in the vehicle, keep windows closed in the predator zones, and take your time — there is no fixed route or speed.
Open-window safari coach with a guide who explains the species and current goings-on in the park. The bus enters parts of the savanna that the auto-route doesn’t reach.
A 3-kilometre marked walking trail through the smaller-animal section: monkeys, lemurs, birds, reptiles and a few smaller hoofstock species you cannot see from the auto-route.
A slow boat trip across the park lake past the gibbon and pelican islands. Children especially love this one — calm water and birds at eye level.
Adjacent to the park, the Safari Resort offers safari lodges, tented camps and a Karibu hotel for visitors who want to stay overnight surrounded by the sounds of the savanna.
Several feeding sessions and keeper talks happen every day across the park — lions, elephants, giraffes, lemurs and birds of prey. Times are posted at the main entrance.
Conservation
Beekse Bergen is part of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and participates in over twenty European breeding programmes for threatened species, from the African elephant to the white rhinoceros and the rare Rothschild giraffe.