Tropical Islands

Infobox Water park
name = Tropical Islands


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location = Brandenburg
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location3 = Germany flagicon|Germany
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Tropical Islands Resort is an artificial tropical resort in Brandenburg, Germany. It is said to be the world's largest tropical indoor pool which can accommodate up to 8,000 visitors a day. It is also the world's largest indoor waterpark at 66,000 m² (710,000 sq feet).The resort is located in Briesen/Brand, part of Halbe in Dahme-Spreewald, Brandenburg, Germany, about 60 km (36 miles) south-southeast of Berlin, off the "Staakow" exit of the A13 Autobahn.It resides inside a disused hangar 360 metres long, 210 metres wide and 107 metres high. At 5.5 million m³ (194 million ft³), it stands as one of the largest buildings on Earth by volume, and is the world's largest single hall without supporting pillars inside. The hangar cost €78 million and was originally commissioned by Cargolifter AG as an airship hangar named "Aerium", but the airship it was intended to house – the CL160 – was never built.The Malaysian Tanjong company bought the hangar and the surrounding real estate for €17.5 million and turned it into a resort with a man-made tropical habitat. It opened on December 19, 2004.Visitors find an exotic environment with rain forest, beach, artificial sun, palm trees, orchids, and bird soundtrack. The air is warm (25 °C). Tropical Islands is open all around the clock, every day of the year.

Rainforest

The complex contains a large artificial rainforest. The rainforest contains over 30,000 cubic metres of soil with over 500 species of plants taking root there. Over 29,000 individual trees are located there, with ground cover plants and creepers covering the remaining space. Animals have been excluded from this environment, as they could be a health hazard to visitors using the water. Sounds of natural rainforests are broadcasted throughout from speakers cleverly disguised as rocks or other natural features. The rainforest also hides the "Tropical Village", where visitors can purchase and eat food. [ [http://www.tropical-islands.de/en.html Tropical Islands > Visitors ] ]

Ballooning

A hot air balloon experience is also available, with a small hot air balloon able to take two people at a time up to 60 metres inside the dome.

Other attractions

Other attractions found inside the "Tropical Islands" complex are a large beach, a Balinese lagoon and a camping ground, where visitors can stay for the night inside the warm complex.

Interesting facts

* At the south end of the complex, it is actually possible to get a sun tan as the roofing of that section is transparent and allows U-V rays to pass through the hangar
* Large machines are used to blow hot air up the sides of the hangar to rid the roof and walls of condensation. If this did not occur, it would actually rain inside the hangar
* Due to the enormous amount of open space, the vegetation will be allowed to grow without restriction in the hopes of creating a true indoor rain forest canopy
* Overnight camping inside the dome is also available for a fee

References

External links

* [http://www.tropical-islands.de/en.html Tropical Islands Resort] English Homepage
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* [http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=390#more-390Article on Tropical Islands]
* [http://maps.google.com/?q=Aerium&ie=UTF8&z=15&ll=52.038765,13.748446&spn=0.013173,0.043259&t=k&om=1 Aerium on Google Maps sat photo]