Right after our calesa took us into a tourist trap known as Hidden Garden we precede to Baluarte. The place is 80 sprawling hectares of gently rolling terrains and hills where exotic animals are kept in captivity but are taken quite well thanks to the initiative of Chavit Singson. I’m not a person who’s into zoo specifically but I was impressed upon reaching the so called animal fortress, the place was huge. The zoo is split up into many different sections and most likely you can cover all of this in an hour .
Birds of the same feather
Colorful birds and snakes were displayed upon entering the vicinity. As you go along don’t fret if you walked into some ponies and ostrich freely gazing in the field. Further up will lead you to the parts where you’ll see different kind of peacocks, civet cats, deers and tigers. Unlike in other zoo, the ponies and ostriches are not locked up in a crazy barriers for fear of them getting out. This zoo allows the visitors to get a close view and not behind crazy glass or fence. 
The place still have a long way to go to make it an interesting place since the animals are kinda few but nevertheless it’s a good start for city like Vigan. This is a one of the better zoos we had in the country. To sum up Baluarte it is young, wild and free. YOUNG because this is one place kids should go if your in Vigan. WILD for the reason that some of the animals can be considered wild and kids can interact with the roaming animals. And the best of it all is it’s – FREE.
