Pantropica (formerly Orchideeën Hoeve)

The story begins with a family flower nursery at Aalsmeer, where the Maarssen family grew carnations, chrysanthemums and lilac; the park's website dates the land purchase to 1915, while Wikipedia dates the nursery to 1919. The first glasshouse, put up in 1930 by a carpenter friend, is regarded as the foundation of the business. In 1957 the purchase of a hundred cymbidiums turned the family towards orchids, and by the 1970s it had become an award-winning breeder.

In 1979 the nursery moved to Luttelgeest in the Noordoostpolder. It officially opened to the public in 1984 and gradually became a leisure park: a first 1,000 m² tropical garden with shop and restaurant in 1989, a Taiwanese garden in 1991, a Malaysian garden in 2000, a butterfly garden in 2008 and a lory garden in 2012.

A zoo licence in 2014 was followed by new animal attractions, from lemurs in 2018 to meerkats in 2019. That year the business marked its centenary and restored 't Stekkasje, the 1930 glasshouse. In 2024 the Orchideeën Hoeve was renamed Pantropica, and the park reported 493,026 visitors in 2025.

Pantropica is a fully covered park: all its zones are under cover, with a total area of about 25,000 m² according to Wikipedia. The complex has grown by successive additions around the nursery set up in 1979, so its halls date from different periods.

The first tropical garden, opened in 1989, covered 1,000 m². The butterfly garden opened in 2008 fills, according to Omroep Flevoland, a 1,500 m² glasshouse laid out as a tropical valley. The park is now organised into themed zones, including Amazonia, Tropica, Lori Bush, Vlinderica, Safrica, a flamingo lagoon and the Hanami Flowerpark.

The oldest element is 't Stekkasje, the small glasshouse built in 1930 by a carpenter friend of the family, restored in 2019 and kept as a reminder of the firm's horticultural roots.

Orchids remain at the heart of the park, a legacy of the nursery that made them its speciality from 1957. Around them, themed gardens recreate tropical landscapes of Asia, the Americas and Africa, and a citrus walk opened in 2014.

Animals have taken a growing place since the zoo licence. In Vlinderica more than 2,000 tropical butterflies fly freely; in the Lori Bush about 80 lories move around at liberty and can be fed by visitors. Wikipedia lists more than thirty animal species, among them primates, lemurs, birds, reptiles, fish and spiders. Since 2023 an underwater world, the Pankong River, has rounded off the collection.

Pantropica lies at Luttelgeest in the Noordoostpolder, in the north of Flevoland, close to the Weerribben-Wieden national park; tour operators pair it with a visit to Giethoorn. As the park is entirely under cover, it can be visited in any weather and in any season.

Allow several hours to explore the themed zones, the butterfly garden and the lory aviary. The park is aimed largely at families, with play areas and a restaurant, and orchid lovers will also find a plant shop.