Diwali at Prague Zoo on Sunday: Admission costs just one crown with an LED lantern

Glowing lanterns will make their way through Prague Zoo on Sunday evening. To mark Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, there will be Indian music and dance along the route and at the finale.

Prague Zoo will celebrate the Hindu festival of lights on Sunday, 8 November, with an evening lantern parade. Before it begins, visitors can learn how to drape a sari and try their first Bollywood dance steps.

Anyone who brings their own LED lantern and enters Prague Zoo through the main entrance between 16.30 and 17.00 on Sunday will pay just one crown for admission. For safety reasons, only LED lanterns are permitted in the parade.

Photo: Zoo Praha

The parade starts at 17.05

The meeting point is the zoo’s Education Centre. After a welcome at 17.00, the parade is due to start at 17.05. The route passes the penguins and anteaters, then follows the Zakázanka path and passes through the Gobi exhibit to Elephant Valley. From there, it continues past the festively lit Ashram to the Dja Reserve.

The parade ends there with a dance and light show. The two performances are scheduled for 18.00 and 18.30. The times may vary slightly depending on the progress of the parade. Visitors can use the Sklenářka exit to leave the zoo.

Photo: Zoo Praha

Sari workshop and Bollywood dancing before the parade

From 16.00 to 17.00, the zoo will offer a sari-draping workshop and an introductory Bollywood dance class at the Education Centre. Dancers from the Bollywood NAPLNO ensemble will demonstrate the first steps. This style of Indian film dance reflects the story and mood of a song and combines traditional Indian dance with elements from other dance styles.

Photo: Zoo Praha

Diwali – the Hindu festival of lights

Diwali symbolises the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. According to one tradition, people lit oil lamps to light King Rama’s way home from exile. According to the Indian epic Ramayana, he had previously defeated the demon Ravana.

People still light lamps in their homes and on the streets during the five-day festival. Prague Zoo regularly joins the celebrations with a lantern parade.


Prague Zoo (Zoologická zahrada hl. m. Prahy) 
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