A Zoo in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Philippines

Governor of Ilocos Sur, and former Deputy National security Advisor, Luis Chavit Singson has created a personal zoo in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. He has opened it up to visitors and locals alike, free of charge.

Everything at Baluarte zoo is free, admission, pony rides and animal shows are all free to the general public. Please be respetful of the animals and don't let your children poke at them!

Welcome to Baluarte Zoo

COME and play with the animals! Be one of them roaring and whistling, indulging in the joys of the moment, you're in Baluarte, in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, the only one of its kind in the country. Not just a zoo, Baluarte is an interactive wildlife sanctuary and facility, with the breathtaking view of its dominating scenic boulders amidst trees and greens.

Memorable events such as feeding them, petting them, riding the "tiburin," a small horse-drawn carriage, and visiting our Butterfly Garden will surely be an extraordinary adventure for you and your family. What's more incredible is that admission to Baluarte is FREE.

Baluarte Zoo is open daily from 7am to 6pm

Zoo patrons are free admission and free use of its facilities in the picnic areas.

It is open daily from 7am to 6pm. You are free to bring your food and be at the picnic place of your choice. We have enough comfort rooms available at the entrance.

Baluarte staff can accommodate educational tours, please feel free to contact us at call 6377-722-7186

Baluarte supports and promotes eco-tourism in Ilocos Sur. The objective way of doing this is make Baluarte eco-friendly and self-sufficient.

Baluarte construction is still on going. Zoo patrons are given free admission and free use of its facilities in the picnic areas. It is open daily from 7am to 6pm. You are free to bring your food and be at the picnic place of your choice. We have enough comfort rooms available at the entrance. Baluarte staff can accommodate educational tours, please feel free to contact us via email on this website or call 6377-722-7186.

Baluarte supports and promotes eco-tourism in Ilocos Sur. The objective way of doing this is make Baluarte eco-friendly and self-sufficient.

Proper waste management is foremost in the facility. Vermiculture, the latest in the proper waste management process is used in coordination with the Provincial Agriculture office of the Department of Agriculture. This process was first introduced in the Philippines in 1982, wherein biodegradable agricultural and household wastes are acceleratedly composted with the use of imported African Night Crawler earthworms. Composted wastes are then used for the fertilizer consumed in Baluarte and sold for additional income.

Baluarte is a ten minute drive from Vigan City.

Vigan City, in Ilocos Sur, is the only surviving colonial town in the Philippines the city's Spanish colonial architecture have remarkably escaped the ravages of World War II. Listed in the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List, Vigan City has its centuries-old houses with cobblestone paved streets, churches, plazas, public buildings retained for generations to behold.

How to go to Baluarte Zoo

By Land 9 hour overland trip from Manila via Philippine Rabbit Bus line, Dominion Bus Corporation, Partas Transportation Company.

By Air Fly to Ilocandia instead. Laoag International Airport has three[3] times a week 70 min. flight via Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific. Public transport is 80 km. trip to Vigan and 10 minute drive to Baluarte. We recommend the comfortable air-conditioned Partas buses with only three seats across and have better reclining positions.

They are dedicated to facilitating education, conservation and protection of endangered species and wildlife. Children and those who are young at heart will rediscover life amongst the animals in unique and entertaining ways specifically through first-hand experience.

Baluarte is 80 hectares of gently rolling terrains, hills and mountain sides, the structures of facilities and amenities, its phases of construction is in its best possible realistic and natural habitat for good and sound animal care.

Located along the western seaboard of Northern Luzon 408 kilometers north of Manila, bounded in the South by South China Sea, Baluarte has its breathtaking view of Vigan City. Baluarte is open to the public and admission is FREE. It is actually Governor Chavit's gift to the people of Vigan where residents and tourists are accorded free use of spaces for their livelihood programs.

A guest to Baluarte zoo enjoying an up close encounter with a young female orangotan

The zoo also has it's own butterfly garden. You can view the many jewel like crisalis in a hatching box.

This statue is 40 feet tall.

They are in the recption area and in plain view.

Dinosaur statue. From this perspective, it looks real and as if it's going to eat the live deer on a hill.

He doesn't look too happy in this shot but afterwards he pranced in front of the zoo's visitors.

Taken from a hill above the residence and zoo by Diana Limjoco

Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Philippines

We are dedicated to forging a bond between people and nature by providing a free, family-oriented experience by advancing quality animal-care, education, science and conservation.

In Baluarte, we entertain to enlighten people about the bond between animals and humans through interactive opportunities. Our dedication to provide educational responsibility especially to children is enormous. We believe that play is an essential component of a child's life. It is a natural therapeutic measure.

Baluarte is currently in the state of further improving their facilities for both animals and visitors. We basically plan to implement the open zoo concept wherein animals will be kept in more sizable enclosures to give them more space to roam, play and move around