Walking in the countryside and enjoying the animals in a getaway in the middle of nature is an excellent weekend plan to do with children especially if it is close to Madrid.
An ideal destination to disconnect from the city is Burrolandia, an animal protector whose objective is to prevent the extinction of the donkey. It is located in Tres Cantos and opens its doors free of charge upon reservation every Sunday in two shifts: from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon and from 12:00 noon to 2:30 pm.
Tickets are made available on Mondays and Fridays around 9 a.m., and reservations are taken weekly. Be careful because they are sold out quickly and can be obtained exclusively through the website. At the access door, you must show your reservation confirmation email.
At Burrolandia it is not even allowed to bring food from outside due to the impossibility to control the quantity and quality of the food given to the animals on Sundays. However, they make available to visitors bags of vegetables to feed the animals, a nice way to collaborate economically and do your bit for a good cause.
Apart from donkeys, there are many more animals in Burrolandia, such as rabbits, piglets and goats, with which you can interact. An important recommendation: go with old clothes, as there is a lot of mud, and it is likely that the little ones (and the not so little ones) will end up stained.
In addition to free admission on Sundays, Burrolandia offers school visits with an educational Program for children from 3 years of age, which includes a guided tour of the facilities, lunch for children and also for the animals, an introduction to the donkeys and workshops and activities related to the animals.
Birthday celebrations
Birthday celebrations are also offered for fundraising purposes. The organization provides the facilities for responsible use in the middle of nature both during the week, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Saturday mornings and afternoons, and Sunday afternoons.
Children celebrating their birthday at the facility will have the opportunity to feed, brush and walk with the burritos and once they have eaten or had a snack they can enjoy the meadow playing other games, such as the sack race or the handkerchief.
How to get there
Burrolandia is located 35 km from Madrid, at Camino de la Moraleja 147 in Tres Cantos. You can get there by bus from Madrid (the 716, which leaves from Plaza Castilla) and get off at the last stop, Tres Cantos – Soto de Viñuelas. From the last stop to Burrolandia it is about 2.5 km.
You can also take the train to Tres Cantos, and at the same station there is a bus stop that will take you to Castillo de Viñuelas.