Statement. The Parque Biológico da Serra da Lousã, in Miranda do Corvo (Coimbra district), is a park of native Portuguese wildlife on 33,000 m² of National Ecological Reserve. It opened in 2009 and is run by the Fundação ADFP as a social business. We visited in May 2026 and photographed 14 species.
A proof by exhaustion checks every case, one by one. It is the least elegant kind of proof and the most satisfying to finish. A wildlife park is an open invitation to try one: walk every path, check every enclosure, photograph everything that moves. We tried.
What animals can you see at the Parque Biológico da Serra da Lousã?
According to Turismo Centro de Portugal and the municipality of Miranda do Corvo, the park keeps native Portuguese fauna in large enclosures that imitate natural habitats: Iberian wolves, brown bears (extinct in the wild in Portugal), lynx, foxes, wild boar, deer, birds of prey and many more, plus a teaching farm with traditional livestock breeds. The numbers vary by source and year, from about 300 animals of 60 species to about 375 animals of 68 species.
Our own list stopped at 14: eagle-owl, mouflon, lynx, fallow deer, wild boar, short-toed snake eagle, pond slider, speckled wood, Eurasian otter, goat, pig, little owl, red squirrel and guinea pig.
Is it a complete proof?
No, and that is fine. With 14 of about 68 species, our coverage is roughly 21%. In proof terms, we verified a fifth of the cases and left the rest as an exercise for the next visit. The wolves and the bears, for instance, did not make it into our frames. They have every right to stay behind a tree.
Why the birds of prey cannot go back to the wild
The municipality describes the park’s birds of prey as “irrecuperáveis”: birds that cannot recover enough to survive in nature. So the eagle-owl staring at you is not a prisoner in the usual sense. It is a survivor with a permanent address.
A wildlife park that is also a social project
The park is a social business of the Fundação ADFP. One of its main goals is employment and inclusion for people with physical or mental disabilities, who take part in animal care and maintenance. According to the foundation, it has welcomed close to half a million visitors since it opened in 2009. Every ticket is, quite literally, part of the equation.
The fruit-tree maze: a note for graph theorists
The park also has a maze made of fruit trees, which the Coimbra region tourism board calls unique in the world. If you get lost, the wall-follower rule (keep one hand on the hedge and never let go) is guaranteed to get you out of any maze whose walls are all connected. If they are not, you need Trémaux’s algorithm, or a child with a better sense of direction than yours.
Three frames from the proof
The full set, 24 frames and 14 species, is in Proof 001: Parque Biológico da Serra da Lousã.
Practical tips
- Opening days: the park opens every day, including weekends and public holidays. Check current hours and prices on its official website before you go.
- Night visits: in summer the park runs evening visits, when nocturnal species are most active. In 2026 they started on 4 July, according to NiT.
- Shade: the paths run under chestnut, oak and strawberry trees, which helps a lot on hot days.
- Photographing through fences: get as close to the mesh as you safely can and zoom in. At short distance and long focal length, the wire blurs out of focus and almost disappears.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Parque Biológico da Serra da Lousã?
At Quinta da Paiva, in Miranda do Corvo (Coimbra district, Portugal), on the slope of the Serra da Lousã.
What animals live in the Parque Biológico da Serra da Lousã?
Native Portuguese species such as the Iberian wolf, brown bear, lynx, fox, wild boar, deer and birds of prey, plus traditional farm breeds in the teaching farm. Sources cite between about 60 and 68 species.
Is the Parque Biológico da Serra da Lousã open every day?
Yes, it opens every day, including weekends and public holidays. Check the official website for current hours and ticket prices.
Who runs the Parque Biológico da Serra da Lousã?
The Fundação ADFP, as a social business that creates jobs for people with disabilities. The park opened in 2009.