Green spaces are few and far between here in Kuwait, so when we recently discovered the beauties of Al Shaheed park on the edge of Kuwait city, we were absolutely delighted! It was such a lush place, that excited us all when we visited with Grandma on her recent visit (which she thoroughly enjoyed). It quickly became one of my favourite places here in Kuwait, and we have since been back again with our home school group for a nature scavenger hunt.
Al Shaheed park is such a beautiful space that narrates the story of a land, its history and culture. It consists of 200,000 m2 of greenery (woah) and also features beautiful botanical gardens, two museums, a visitor centre, a lake with musical dancing fountains, walkways, cafes and jogging tracks. It is the largest urban park in Kuwait and reminds us of the grounds of a stately home in the UK – only Al Shaheed park offers all this for free.
The park has excellent walk ways and a novel touch of mist sprays along the running track, for those hot Kuwaiti Summer days! It is the ideal space for family walks, days out and for kids run safely in nature and explore. We loved the water features and were delighted by the joyous experience of the dancing fountains – WOW! It was so fun to sit in the sun and enjoy them together. We also very much enjoyed the oasis garden; with palms and other botanical plants, as well as beautiful shallow pools, it offered such a tranquil place to walk and sit amidst the hustle and bustle of the city! The kids loved this, and we spent quite a while enjoying it.
Al shaheed park has many sculptures and artists contributions to see as you wander around too, which is interesting to talk about and look at together, as well as other historical things. As it is located on the oldest and most historical ring roads of Kuwait, Al Shaheed Park contains a wealth of history waiting to be explored.Their most historical elements to be found in the park is the Al-Shaab gate – one of the five remaining gates of the old Kuwait Wall. The park also has two monuments for the Martyrs – The Martyr Monument – a seven meter high glass sculpture built to honour the martyrs of Kuwait, and the Constitution Monument that celebrates the Golden Jubilee of the Kuwaiti constitution.
We spent hours wandering around the gardens, admiring the wildlife (you can spot some great birds here) and water features, and just soaking up this lush green space in the middle of such an urban and dusty area. The park is dedicated to the environment and this is clear through out – it is not only clean and has an abundance of flora, but buildings have grass roofs and they have an entire museum dedicated to the environment and bird migration in Kuwait, where visitors can learn more about the different ecosystems, migratory birds and the effects of pollution through interactive learning stations.
We didn’t have a chance to see the museums as the timings didn’t fit with our visit. But we are also keen to see the At Thekra, which is Al Shaheed Park’s memorial museum. This provides more knowledge on the history of Kuwait, its past battles and the Gulf War.
Al shaheed is a must see on any visit to Kuwait, and a local fave for family days out if you live here! I can’t wait to return for a great connection to nature, and to see and learn more about Kuwait’s wildlife and history through its museums.