La Granja Villa is an amusement park and petting zoo that is great for children with locations in Chorrillos and Comas.

The 59-soles admission seems a little steep, and in fact that’s why it took so long for me to drag my family down there. But in hindsight the price was just right. We went on a public holiday because there was no school. I was worried about the lines, but the price seems to be designed to keep the lines short. It was almost an entirely painless day. The hardest part was leaving!

Here are some highlights from our visit.

Turning left after the entrance, we passed a small play area to come upon the bird house. The toucan at the end is “territorial,” according to the guide.

We then entered an aquarium featuring fish from the Amazon rainforest. Above is a piranha.

Then we found the petting zoo area with goats, sheep, horses, llamas and more. This was probably the highlight for the children, but it’s hard to say. They were having high-octane fun the whole time. It was almost difficult to sit them down for lunch.

Here is my wife and children feeding the horses. I also got video of my daughter feeding the sheep.

The center of the park features all kinds of games and rides for children of all ages. There is a carousel and ball pits for small children, and a water ride roller coaster for bigger children. One of the rides my four- and two-year-old were able to enjoy was the Barco Pirata (see video).

The entrance to the largest ride in the park, pictured above, is in this central area. But it requires two passengers and we weren’t able to make it happen with the logistics of three small children.

My children were too small to go into the haunted house, as well as the two rides next to it.

But just beyond those we found some action in the children’s paddleboats and an inflatable slide.

I thought the paddleboats seemed disappointing but my boy loved it, and of course I had to peel my little girl away from the inflatable slide.

The Montaña Raton was the roller coaster that the children both qualified for. We rode it three or four times in a row. There was no line except for this once, when I took the video above. Here is video of a ride we didn’t have the patience to wait for.

My boy was a little wary of feeding the huge cows at first, but he warmed up to them (see video).

The highlight for me was the chicken coup at the end. We were led right in to walk around with the chickens. They had baby chicks and an egg incubator, and even a few invaders from the local Chorrillos habitat.

Location and info

La Granja Villa
Alameda Del Premio Real 397, Chorrillos
Av. Condorcanqui 2751, Comas (map)
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission: price varies, 59 soles on weekends ($18)
La Granja Villa on Facebook

La Granja Villa has two locations in metropolitan Lima to serve those living on either side of the Rimac River. Most international residents and visitors to Lima will go to the location in Chorrillos, located next door to the Pantanos de Villa wildlife refuge.

All said and done, this is an instant top-five-thing-to-do-in-Lima with children. We’ll definitely be back. In addition to the high price keeping the lines short, the restaurants are quite expensive. But the food was good. Still, be prepared to spend.