The Eid holiday will be coming soon, and families are already wondering where they can go during those few vacation days. So please take a look at the website of the newly opened Lost Paradise of Dilmun Water Park (www.lpodwaterpark.com), which has just opened in Bahrain. At the website you can see a slideshow, take a virtual tour and have a chance to win free tickets. The park is open during extended evening hours for Ramadan and then will revert to its regular hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“The park, near the Bahrain International Circuit, is extensively themed around Bahrain’s rich cultural history, from a time 4,000 years ago when the kingdom was the center of the Dilmun civilization, a place with an abundance of water, springs and shallow wells,” said Muhannad Hamad, chairman of Lost Paradise. “Lost Paradise will not only act as the ideal leisure and entertainment destination for families in Bahrain but also for those visiting from neighboring GCC countries and from around the world.”
The park aims to eventually attract 300,000 visitors annually. Lost Paradise has the largest wave pool in the Middle East, the only one with a sandy beach, and some of the largest aquatic high-tech rides in the world, all of which were constructed and installed by Canada’s Whitewater West.
The $50 million Lost Paradise of Dilmun water park has been built near the Banyan Tree Desert Spa and Resort and behind the Al-Areen Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary, managed by Bahrain’s National Commission for Wildlife Protection is a refuge for endangered Arabian species and a wildlife educational center. Herds of Arabian mammals like the Arabian Oryx and the Reem Gazelle are protected on the reserve. A representative collection of ungulate species from the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa, North Africa and Asia, belonging to 30 species of mammals and 60 different species of birds, are present in the park, where some are kept in enclosures. Visitors can take scheduled tours on buses with guides. For further information on visiting the sanctuary, Telephone (+973) 1783-6116. Some animals in the sanctuary are visible from the water park and also from a restaurant at the resort.
The water park and spa are the first two projects to open in the Al-Areen Development, which is ultimately projected to cost over $1 billion and spread over an area of two million square meters in Bahrain. To learn more about this effort to increase Bahrain’s reputation as a friendly destination for family and health-oriented tourists, click to www.alareenresort.com.