Amsterdamse Bos In Amsterdam

It is a forest type park situated in the southwest of Amsterdam and home to variant number of native trees as well as specimen trees from many countries. Earlier it was created artificially but as the time passed it took the place of a real forest. Since its existence it has been constantly improved. As it is well planned project and carefully arranged, the park has got a lot of facilities for leisure, entertainment and sports activity. It is like a heaven for many kinds of insects, small animals and many species of birds especially water birds. Many small lakes are also present in this wood which is decorated with bridges, which adds to its beauty. The main attractions are horse rental, canoe rental and an open theatre. One can enjoy sailing boats, rowing, walking, jogging, cycling and fishing. Little further is the Bosmuseum, where one can view the map of the park along with the walking routes and the story about how the wood was created. Besides this a permanent exhibition in addition to provisional exhibition about planting and maintenance of the wood can also be enjoyed.

The park covers an area of about 1000 hectares. A number of visitors arrive here every year not only from Amsterdam but from the surrounding areas also. The designing of the park in 1934 was started by keeping in mind the motto of ‘Five years work for a thousand men. The work of planting wood was started in 1934 that provided employment to about 20,000 people during the crisis years. The work continued until the year 1967. Today it is a flourished area with about 150 indigenous species of trees and about 200 varieties of birds.

Visitors center (Van Nijenrodeweg) could be seen on the main entrance and all the information (mostly in Dutch) related to Amsterdamse Bos could be collected from the centre. It is the natural habitat for not only many of the faunas like squirrels, rabbits, frogs and many of the birds of prey but also many of the flora even with some of the rare breed could be seen here. Fun forest is also available at the main entrance for young as well as old including exciting adventures.

Besides this, camping site is also available on the south edge (on Bosrandweg) of the wood, where pitches are at hand for tents, campers and caravans. Camping could be enjoyed the whole year round. Along with the network of footpaths, cycle paths and bridle paths the forest also includes six marked route for walkers. For other activities bicycles, canoes and pedal boats could also be hired and enjoyed at the routes marked in the Bos. Other fields are provided for the activity as sunbathe, football and other sports. Hockey, cricket pitches and tennis court are available near Nieuwe Kalfeslaan.

Other than this it is an interesting sphere for the competition like rowers, canoeist and fishermen. In summer on can enjoy amateur fishing also. For this membership of AHV (Amsterdam Angling Association) is required that is available at the Visitors Centre. Skating activities could be enjoyed at Amstelveense Poel and the Bosbaan in harsh winter. Evening performance could be seen in the open theatre ( Openluchttheater) in the month of July and August. It is advisable to carry a blanket, a bottle of wine and light food as the play might be long.

For children the entertaining sources are something wow. Two paddling pools with modest playgrounds are there, one near the large playing field and the other near the main entrance. Children are allowed to feed goats at the biological farm ‘De Ridammerhoeve’, which is located in the middle of the Amsterdamse Bos. This farm includes cheese factory, petting zoo, chicken farm and a farm shop also. Light refreshment or coffee could also be enjoyed at terrace. Its opening timings are from 10:00 – 17:00. Boerderij Meerzicht ‘The pancake farm’ provides the site of animals like deer, peacock and other along with playground.

Another big attraction is De Heuvel ‘The Hill’. It is an artificial mountain having one slope free for the winter sports. The park was designed so as to provide the visitors an open view on landscape. Although the entry in the park could be done through several places yet the main entry has been built. At this entry two huge bunkers can be seen. One of them is the big café and the other one is the reception and a souvenirs shop.

Amsterdamse Bos is the perfect place to visit or to enjoy picnic that provides the visitors not only the greenery but also with a good choice of activity sources. It’s a blend of natural area, traditional park, and exercise area and entertainment facility. Daily opening time of Bos is 12:00 to 17:00 but remain close on Christmas Day, 1st January and 31st December. One can enjoy the tram ride in the Museumtram which runs along the entire Bos (Haarlemmerstation to Bovenkerk), traveling along the one of the most beautiful tramline in Netherlands. Besides this a ferry also runs from the north side of the Amsterdamse Bos in the month of mid April to mid October. Car entry is allowed only on special permission. Parking of the car in Bos is free.