Africam Safari: Puebla Travel Guide (4.6★)

A zebra stands in the lane, and nobody moves until it does. That one rule runs the whole of Africam Safari. You are the visitor in a fenced savanna on the edge of Puebla, and the animals have right of way. More than 450 species live across the reserve, and you see most of them through a windscreen or a bus window rather than over a moat.

The park opened in 1972, founded by Carlos Camacho Espíritu. The boulevard that leads there carries his name. It is one of the best-known wildlife parks in Mexico and draws a steady stream of families from Puebla and Mexico City. Expect company, not solitude.

Your car or their bus

This choice shapes the day. The park lets you drive the safari route in your own vehicle or ride one of its tour buses, and each has a real trade-off.

Driving yourself puts you in charge of the pace. You can idle beside a herd for as long as you like, as long as the traffic behind you allows it. The catch is your paintwork. Curious animals come right up to cars, and in some sections they will lean on them.

The bus comes with a guide giving commentary, and the higher seats give a better view over the vegetation. You give up control of when to stop. If nobody in your group wants to drive, or you have come by public transport, the bus is the obvious answer.

A rental car works fine. Just read the rental agreement on wildlife damage before you drive in.

The road south to Valsequillo

Africam sits about 16.5 km south of central Puebla on Boulevard Capitán Carlos Camacho Espíritu. This is the road toward the Valsequillo reservoir. The full address is Carretera al Oasis 17302-22, Oasis, 72960 Puebla.

• By car or rideshare: Leave the city heading south on the boulevard. Uber and DiDi both run in Puebla, but have a plan for the trip back, because the park is outside the city.
• From Mexico City: Puebla is roughly two hours east by highway. Africam has sold combined transport and entry packages from both cities in the past, so check the official site for what is running now.
• From Puebla’s historic centre: Build in extra time for traffic on the way out of town, especially on weekend mornings.

Working with the gate hours

The schedule is simple. Monday to Friday the park opens at 10am. On Saturdays and Sundays it opens an hour earlier, at 9am, and it closes at 5pm every day.

Arriving at opening is the most useful thing you can do. You get the drive-through done before the queue of cars builds behind you. The animals also tend to move more in the cooler part of the day. Puebla sits at about 2,100 metres, so mornings can be crisp even when afternoons are warm.

From June to September, the rainy season often brings afternoon storms to the central highlands. That is another reason to do the drive in the morning and keep the afternoon loose. Turning up after lunch leaves too little time to see both halves of the park before 5pm.

After the savanna: the walking section

The safari drive is only half the visit. Past the drive-through route there is a walking area with more enclosures, places to eat and shade. It is where most families spend the second half of the day.

Plan on three to five hours in total. A weekend visit with children can easily fill the whole day from 9am to closing. Sunscreen and a hat earn their place here, because the walking area is exposed and the highland sun is strong.

Rules of the reserve, and how people actually follow them

The behaviour inside the fences is what makes a visit go well or badly. Everyone follows the same set of habits.

• Windows up where the signs say so. The big-cat and other predator sections are fenced off from the grazers, and staff are clear that windows stay closed and doors stay locked there. Treat it as non-negotiable.
• Never step out of the vehicle. Not for a photo, not to check a scratch. Stay inside until you reach the parking areas.
• Don’t feed the animals unless park staff run an official feeding activity.
• Keep the line moving. Stopping to watch is normal. Parking for ten minutes while cars stack up behind you is not. Pull ahead when a gap opens.
• Paying and tipping: Card payment is common at the gate in Mexico, but carry some pesos for snacks and small purchases. If you take the bus, a small tip for a good guide is customary in Mexico, though nobody will demand one.

Since this is one of the most-visited attractions in the state, the real skill is beating the crowd, not finding a quiet corner. Weekday mornings at 10am are the closest you will get to an open road.

Pairing it with Puebla

Africam fits neatly into a Puebla stay as a half-day or full-day trip. Spend the morning at the park, then head back into the city for the evening.

The historic centre around the Zócalo and Puebla Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a good place to wind down with mole poblano or a plate of chiles en nogada in late summer, when they are in season. If you have a second day, nearby Cholula has its great pyramid, crowned by a church, and is an easy ride from the centre.

Keep the safari to the morning and the city to the evening. That way you get the animals at their liveliest and the Zócalo when it fills up after dark.