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It's been quite a summer for Terra Natura Murcia. The popular wildlife and water park on the outskirts of Murcia city has just recorded its best season to date, welcoming 132,000 visitors over the summer months, a rise of 10% on the same period in 2025. For a park that has quietly become one of the region's most cherished family destinations, it's a result that speaks for itself.

 

Coinciding with the Murcia Fair, the park celebrated the occasion with an open day for which 1,000 invitations were distributed. Visitors were able to tour the facilities and take part in the park's regular programme, including its popular informative talks on the animals in its care.

 

Part of this summer's success came courtesy of Aqua Natura Murcia, the park's water park, which debuted its new Tornado attraction this season. The ride, a 17-metre-high enclosed water slide reaching speeds of around 40 kilometres per hour, generated considerable excitement when it was announced earlier in the year, and judging by the visitor numbers, it clearly delivered.

 

But Terra Natura Murcia has always been about far more than thrills and splashes. Behind the scenes, the park carries out a substantial programme of conservation work that often goes unnoticed by casual visitors. It currently participates in 15 European Endangered Species Programmes, covering animals including the oryx, the leopard and the white rhinoceros, and contributes to 17 European Species Books.

 

It also sits on the European conservation committees for the spotted hyena, the Iberian wolf and the hippopotamus, among others. It's serious, painstaking work, and the park does it quietly and consistently year after year.

 

Research runs alongside all of this, with active projects including a study into rhinoceros welfare through environmental enrichment and collaborative work with the University of Córdoba on zoonoses in primates. The park also partners with local organisations such as Assido to promote social and professional inclusion within the community.

 

With the new school year underway, Terra Natura Murcia has launched its educational programme for visiting school groups, giving students the chance to explore biodiversity and animal conservation up close. It's the kind of hands-on learning that has always been central to what the park does, and demand from schools, summer camps and children's groups continues to grow year on year.

 

All of which gives the park plenty to celebrate as it looks ahead to a landmark occasion. Terra Natura Murcia is already preparing to mark its 20th anniversary with a full year of activities under the slogan "20 years leaving a mark." The programme will explore four pillars of the park's story: conservation, education, creating experiences, and its deep connection with the Region of Murcia.

 

Twenty years. One hundred and thirty-two thousand visitors in a single summer. Not a bad way to head into the next chapter.

 

 

Images: Terra Natura Murcia