Did you know you can do a camel safari near Mesquite, Nevada? This hidden gem is one of the most unique local experiences I’ve ever had!

It’s no secret I love animals. Like the time I cried when I saw sea turtles. So when my birthday rolled around a few days ago, it’s not shocking that I picked an animal-packed adventure as my way of celebrating.

Called Camel Safari Las Vegas for it’s proximity to the gambling capital of the world, it is actually about 10 minutes from Mesquite, in a little desert town called Bunkerville.

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What’s There?

You’ll find 32 camels, a two-toed sloth, a Zedonk, an African-crested porcupine, six-banded armadillos, woolly opossums, llamas, and alpacas. Yes, you read that right. Like Disneyland for any animal lover like myself.

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Tour Options

You can choose from 5 tour options. Camel Safari Ride, Zookeeper Experience, Safari Trek and Packing, Camel Safari Cookout, and the one we opted to do:

The Camel Encounter

• Duration: 1 hour
• Start Times: 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• Available Days: Thursdays – Mondays

This tour did not disappoint! Most of the camels are extremely friendly (they tell you which ones to watch out for) and love the attention! You’ll get up close and personal!

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Kissing a camel officially checked off the list! I just want someone to look at me the way this camel did. That’s love right there.

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The camels aren’t shy at all and actually enjoy being touched! We rode in the on-site ATV with hay in the back and they ate right out of it. When they see you, they’ll walk right up and ask for attention.

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At one point, Daimen stopped petting one of the camels, and he nudged him to keep petting him…just like my dogs do. It was hilarious!

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They have both one and two-hump camels at the farm, along with a breed I hadn’t heard of or seen before!

Bactrian camels

These camels look like they were born to a royal family and also belong in an old-school Herbal Essense commercial. Tell me I’m wrong.

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What a majestic creature.

But wait! As I mentioned previously, there aren’t just awesome camels here. There’s a bunch of other amazing animals, like…

A Two-toed Sloth

This sloth is literally the cutest!! Bonus points: it’s in a heated enclosure, so if you go when it’s cold like we did, you get to escape to a cozy and warm area to see this cutie! Sloths are nocturnal creatures, so when we first came in he was sleeping with his hands over his face, which was so adorable! He moved his hands and yawned. (Swoon)

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Pictured below is the owner of the farm! He loves all the animals like his own children. It’s the sweetest! The sloth has a cozy enclosure with access to a playground outside.

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The most interesting thing I learned about sloths on this adventure is that they only poop every 5-7 days. And that poop has been digesting in its system for about a month. That means that literally everything about the sloth is slow, including the way it processes its food. They also said that the poop smells horrific. So badly that the sloth will go to the bathroom then do whatever it can to get as far away from it as possible. You’re welcome for that fun fact.

Armadillos

I wouldn’t necessarily say they are the most adorable creatures, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It was super interesting to see them burying themselves in the dirt and playing around.

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Porcupine

Porcupines are also nocturnal creatures. She coaxed him out of his tunnel with peanuts. When he came out I was shocked at how big he was! And he is ADORABLE! …Looked like a big, pokey, overgrown guinea pig!

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Ready for another mind-blowing fact? Porcupines don’t actually shoot their quills at people. My life is a lie. They actually fluff up their quills when they feel threatened and run backward into whatever they consider a threat – hence the fence – for viewers protection.

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The best thing about visiting the Camel Safari is that both the owner and workers treat each and every animal like family. They know each of them by NAME. All the animals aren’t just well taken care of, they’re spoiled! The way they should be.

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I’d also like to add that they have a full 5-star rating (including mine) on trip advisor. I’m sure you can tell why by my post, but you need to see it for yourself! Especially these faces. It doesn’t get any better than this.

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? Ready to go? Book your tour here!

Have you ever experienced camels outside of a zoo?

Tell me in the comments!