Hacienda Nápoles
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Hacienda Nápoles (Spanish for Naples Estate) is the luxurious estate built and owned by Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia (320 km (200 mi) NW of Bogotá), and 180 km (111 miles) east of Medellin. The estate covers about 20 km2 (7.7 sq mi) of land.
History
It included a Spanish colonial house, and a complete zoo that included many kinds of animals from different continents such as giraffes, ostriches, elephants, hippopotamuses, ponies, antelope, and exotic birds. The ranch had a large collection of old and luxurious cars and bikes, a private airport and even a kart racing track.
Following Escobar's death in 1993, his family went into a legal struggle with the Colombian government over the property. The government prevailed and the neglected property is now managed by the Municipality of Puerto Triunfo.
The cost of maintenance for the zoo and the animals was too expensive for the government, so it was decided that most of the animals would be donated to Colombian and international zoos. There are still bison, zebras, a rare goat and one ostrich. Escobar's hippopotamuses have become feral, living in at least four lakes in the area and spreading into neighbouring rivers. Contact between the hippos and local fishermen has led to calls for the hippo population to be culled. By 2011 there were at least 30 animals wild in the countryside - the number of hippos makes it difficult to find zoos into which they can be resettled.[1]
Various features
- The estate's entrance has a replica of Escobar's first plane, a Piper, mounted at the entrance. It is this plane which carried the first shipment of cocaine that Escobar delivered to the United States.
- There are some dinosaur statues built with bones in a section of the estate, along with pre-historic animals, such as the mammoth, that the children could climb and play on.
Recent years
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. In September 2006, there was a rumor about building an anti-crime museum about Pablo Escobar, a jail and a theme park. The jail is currently under construction and the dinosaur park has been restored.
By November 2006, the property ownership passed to the Colombian government and was valued at 5 billion Colombian pesos (Approx $2.23 million U.S. dollars).[2]
