Korkeasaari Zoo: Accessibility
Personal assistants
Korkeasaari is a disability card destination. A personal assistant traveling with a person requiring an assistant may enter both the vessel and the zoo without charge, when the person requiring the assistant has a disability card marked with an “A”. The zoo is a quarantined area, and for this reason guide- or assistance-dogs can not enter the island. Prams and wheelchairs are currently not available for hire in Korkeasaari.
The vessels to Korkeasaari Zoo
The vessels are fully accessible via a gangway, and you can board our vessels with prams and with both manual- and electric wheelchairs. The bathrooms onboard are not wheelchair-accessible.
The terrain in Korkeasaari Zoo
Most of the areas and facilities on Korkeasaari are fully accessible, or mostly accessible. The terrain on Korkeasaari is however naturally quite hilly. Very steep hills can particularly be found in the central parts of the island: these hills can be difficult for wheelchair users. Almost all roads are wide and covered in asphalt. The observation tower is only accessible by stairs. The zoo has plenty of benches and places to rest.
Viewing the animals
Korkeasaari has some staircases, but the animals can also be viewed without using stairs. There are two ramps that go to the upper level of the Bear Castle: the ramp in the Southern end is gentle, and the ramp in the Northern end is steep. The viewing platform itself is also slanted, but the front of the viewing platform has a level surface area. The upper level of the Monkey Castle’s outdoor enclosure is only accessible by stairs, but the monkeys can also be viewed accessibly from the lower level. The entrance to the Borealia-house is accessible, and the house has automatic doors. The dark house has a ramp, but the doors are not automatic.
Korkeasaari has two tropical houses, Amazonia and Africasia. Both of them have automatic doors. Amazonia is predominantly accessible and easily maneuvered by wheelchair. Between the tropical houses there is a threshold that has been lowered with the use of ramps. Africasia is also predominantly accessible, but the hill in the rainforest-side is steep, and may be slippery when wet.
Restaurants and bathroom-facilities in Korkeasaari Zoo
The Restaurant Karhu, situated at the Bear Castle is accessible. Restaurant Pukki, situated in the central part of the island, has a ramp which is located on the side of the restaurant building. The doors of the restaurants do not have opening mechanisms.
There are always three to five accessible bathrooms available on Korkeasaari. The bathrooms that are open are marked on the map. All the bathrooms on Korkeasaari have nappy changing facilities adjacent to them.
Preserving the unique nature of our archipelago is important to us, and all our vessels are solely fuelled with Neste’s renewable MY fuel oil. As pioneers we want to take part in developing low-emission solutions. By using Neste’s MY renewable fuel oil we reduce our carbon footprint on the route in question by up to 90% compared to fossil fuels.
