Santhosh Chandran
Al Shahaniya
The Al Dosari Park and Nature Reserve in Al Shahaniya is a very different tourist attraction for football fans visiting Qatar now for the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Away from city crowds, the nature reserve and its cottages offer a serene and quiet relaxation so different from the FIFA fever which has gripped the rest of the country.
To make things even more attractive for the large number of football fans visiting the country for Qatar 2022, the park expanded its offerings and added many new facilities ahead of the kick-off date.
Speaking to Qatar Tribune, Mohamed Al Dosari, director of the park, said that many animals in the zoo have been shifted to open air cages and a large number of trees have also been planted. “Now, the expanded park has many more attractions for wildlife lovers and environment buffs. More green areas havebeen developed and many animals now have natural habitat-like cages,” he said.
“The park has 14 sections with separate areas for birds and animals. An organic farm has also been developed in the park. It features a number of vegetables and flowers,” Dosari explained.
“The park features a wide area of greenery in desert. It really excited me. The museum of birds and animals is worth visiting as it offers a lot of valuable information about animals that live in the desert”, says an entry in the visitor book at the Al Dosari Park and Nature Reserve.
Wide lush green areas, renovated museums with additional pieces of artefacts and the pedestrian path lined with beautiful flower beds are the other attractions.
The Al Dosari Park and Nature Reserve, which is visited by more than 150,000 people annually, also features an animal safari park, a zoo, an amusement park as well as heritage and maritime museums. In addition, the visitors are offered animal rides around the park.
The animal safari park, which is spread over more than 10 acres of land, features a wide variety of animals, including different kinds of Oryx.
The night-stay cottages located close to the animal safari park offer visitors the real experience of a nature reserve in a desert.
The park is open to the public from 7am to 7pm and opening of new roads and flyovers has made the park’s access easier for people.
