Panda House, Qatar

We visited the Panda House up in the north of Qatar and it was a wonderful experience to share. The two pandas, Soraya and Suhail, are a gift from the government of China to the government of Qatar, and the facility they are hosted in is excellently well kept and visitor friendly. 

My personal favorite feature was the serene Qura'an recitation through speakers throughout the outdoor gardens leading into the panda house. Make sure to book your tickets in advance through the Oun application as no entry is allowed on site without pre-booking.

The male panda, Suhail, is house in a separate space than the female, Soraya. Apparently they have breeding seasons and there is no point housing them together outside of that season. Here is the male, non-chalantly munching on his bamboo and completely unbothered by the hoards of onlookers.

There are also some recreational activities, within the panda theme, to entertain visitors.

This is the wall of the face painting and art room for children at the facility.

Here is the gorgeous Soraya, whom I want to kidnap and snuggle with forever. This is a shot of her cooling down in the pond after strenuous ballerina twirling for the audience. She was a pleasure to watch and the urge to hug her is real.

The trip ends with the gift shop and there is also a photo booth where you can have you image instantly printed and framed as a memento for the visit.