Parque Norte is Medellín’s amusement park that is open year-round. With the near perfect climate in Medellín the park doesn’t have to close for parts of the year due to the weather as happens in other parts of the world.
The traditional amusement park opened in 1979 and was completely renovated in a project that started in 2006 and was completed in 2008. The most recent additions to Parque Norte opened in April this year with an investment of nearly 1.4 billion pesos ($758,000).
The new additions this year include three “7-D” simulators with movies and special effects, a canopy ride that crosses the lake and renewals to the Prehistoric Jungle ride with the addition of eight dinosaurs and six animatronics.
The amusement park is popular with families and can also be a good place to go on a date.
Compared to the large-scale amusement parks in the United States, Parque Norte is somewhat smaller, sized at about 39.5 acres. As a comparison, Disneyland in California is sized at about 85 acres.
Parque Norte has a total of over 30 attractions grouped into five different plazoletas (small squares) that surround a small lake.
1. Plazoleta Extreme
This is a popular area of the amusement park. This is where you will find the most popular water ride where you can get wet (Journey to the Center of the Earth); Kamikaze, which is relatively extreme and will turn you upside down while going forward and backwards; and Maui, the ride that may give you a sense of vertigo as it shakes you back and forth.
2. Plazoleta Expedición
This area of the park is where you will find the new Canopy ride that takes you across the lake while giving you a nice view of the mountains surrounding the Aburrá Valley.
In this area you will also find the Prehistoric Jungle water ride, the Avión plane attraction that simulates flying to different destinations and one of the new “7-D” simulators.
3. Plazoleta Fantasía
In this area of Parque Norte you will find several attractions especially for children including bumper cars and several rides that are for children less than 1.25 meters (less then 4 feet 2 inches) as well as one of the new “7-D” simulators.
4. Plazoleta Aventura
In this part of the amusement park you will find a small roller coaster, the big Polar slide and another of the new “7-D” simulators.
5. Plazoleta Eventos
This area of the amusement park consists of about 21,500 square feet of space with capacity for up to 7,000 people. It is used for concerts, plays and corporate parties.
Food and Entrance Fees
Parque Norte has a food court with several relatively inexpensive fast food options that is located next to the lake in the park.
However, in my opinion, the food isn’t all that great in Parque Norte. I would recommend instead eating at the In Situ restaurant located in the nearby Botanical Gardens if you are looking for a very good meal.
There are four categories of entrance fees for Parque Norte, which provide access to different attractions:
- Extreme Bracelet = 26,500 pesos ($14) – includes unlimited use of all the attractions, except for the ATVs.
- Adventure Bracelet = 23,000 pesos ($12) – includes the use of up to 10 attractions, except for the ATVs.
- Expedition Bracelet = $15,000 pesos ($8) – includes all the family attractions: jungle, airplane, balloon, mythical train and infinite space.
- Fantasy Bracelet = $16,000 pesos ($9) – this is suitable for children and includes all the family attractions and attractions for children, except for power on wheels and the play ground.
How to Get There
Parque Norte is conveniently located very close to Metro Station Universidad.
The area nearby has additional tourist attractions, which include the Botanical Gardens, Parque Explora and the Medellín Planetarium.
The Bottom Line
Don’t go expecting to see an amusement park like the large amusement parks found in the States. I have been to Parque Norte a couple of times and it’s a nice amusement park with several fun attractions.
It is located in a peaceful green setting around a lake with very nice views of the mountains surrounding the valley.
However, there is room for improvement and space available to add attractions so I hope the city continues to invest in the amusement park.
The ticket prices for Parque Norte have increased in 2015 to 29,000 pesos for the Extreme Bracelet, 23,000 pesos for the Adventure Bracelet and they now have a Family Bracelet for 19,000 pesos for just the family attractions.