So Eilat’s Coral World Underwater Observatory Park is a public aquarium, park, and conservation center located in Eilat. Moreover, it is the biggest public aquarium in Israel! And hosts over 800 species. The park and aquarium are located to the south of Eilat’s Coral Beach nature reserve. It’s a super fun thing to do if you have little kids so don’t miss it!
Underwater Observatory Park Exhibitions
First, there is the entrance aquarium which is a medium cubic aquarium in the entrance square of the Underwater Observatory Park. Furthermore, it features several species such as corals; butterflyfishes; crabs, and more! Also, the aquarium (as well as in all the other exhibits at the park) is connected directly to the Red Sea. Moreover, the water is pumped and replaced constantly with Red Seawater! So you get fully natural conditions are kept within the aquarium.
Another thing to do in the Coral World Underwater Observatory is the Red Sea Circular Exhibit which is a 360 degrees exhibit in which the visitors stand in the middle and are surrounded by 360,000 liters of water featuring a complete natural ecosystem. In addition, the exhibit features corals; herbivorous fish; carnivorous fish; parasites; crabs; shrimp; and more!
In other words, all living creatures in one functioning ecosystem! Now all the animals are fed daily thus ensuring they don’t harm each other. Furthermore, the Circular exhibit is used for research about the unique ecosystem of coral reefs. The water in the circular exhibit is pumped from 42 meters deep in the Red Sea and is circulated 24/7.
Turtle and stingray pools
So the Turtle and Stingray pools are three shallows (3.5 meters deep) pools, which exhibit hawksbill sea turtle; green sea turtles, and spotted eagle rays. In the middle of one of the pools, there’s a small sand island for female turtles to lay their eggs on. When the eggs hatch, the baby sea turtles are taken into a small aquarium, where they are safe from predators and where they get food and vaccinations. When they grow they are transferred to a bigger aquarium. Then when they are two years old with a very high chance to survive in the wild they are released into the ocean. The Underwater Observatory’s turtle conservation program is one of the leading programs in the field and so far has released hundreds of turtles back to nature.
Underwater Observatory Park: Rare Fish Exhibit
The Rare Fish Exhibit is a large exhibit separated into three rooms that exhibit rare fauna and flora of the red sea in medium-sized aquariums. The first two rooms feature animals such as lionfishes; Red Sea clownfish, starfish; rare corals; moray eels; lobsters; sea horses; and more. In the exhibit, there is a total of 250 species; featured in 35 medium aquariums.
Some of the animals in the exhibit are endemic to the Red Sea and are in the observatory park for means of breeding and conservation. The sea horse conservation program is a success, and since 2002 thousands of sea horses has been released into the Red Sea. Despite the animals, the aquariums are designed to mimic the animals’ natural habitat and thus educate visitors about different marine biomes and habitats.
The third room of the exhibit is the nocturnal room. The nocturnal room features various nocturnal animals such as flashlight fish; squids; jellyfishes; crabs, and more. The exhibit also features active and awake corals – as corals are nocturnal animals. Most of the animals in the exhibit are capable of bioluminescence.
The “Shark World” Exhibit
The “Shark World” exhibit is a huge exhibit containing 3,000,000 l (790,000 US gal) of water, and featuring 20 shark species; rays and corals. In fact, the exhibit has a huge viewing window, an underwater tunnel, and an interactive explanations area with educational stations about the importance of sharks and the threats that make sharks endangered.
Coral 2000: A Glass Bottomed Boat
So the Coral 2000 is a glass-bottomed boat. In fact, this unique ship was built in Australia in 1994 and made its way to Eilat in 1999 where it has been an enjoyable attraction ever since. In other words, the Coral 2000 offers beautiful and fascinating views of Eilat’s coral reef. Now the Coral 2000 cruise lasts about 35 minutes. Tourists from around the world flock to enjoy this beautiful and special experience. Here is a link to their website! I recommend you to read my post about things to do in Eilat with kids.
