Shark Valley

Shark Valley is a 7-mile road that reach the heart of the Everglades, with an observation tower at the end to see the vast sawgrass prairie stretching to the horizons and some of the wildlife that make Everglades famous - alligators and great flocks of wading birds. You can walk, bicycle, or take a tram tour. It is a loop so you will come back on a parallel road.

We took the first tram at 9AM in the morning. The tram is equipped with a driver and guide. The guid explained everything from what we saw, biosphere, wildlife, and history of the park. The tram also made stops when an alligator was identified nearby. We saw alligator hunting turtle twice, pretty cool. The tram would stop at the tower for half hour so the visitors can walk up to the tower for the view.

What wildlife you see at Shark Valley depends on the season. During the dry winter, alligators, wading birds, and deer concentrate near canals and borrow pits not far from the road. also the weather is mild and pleasant in this time, with low humidity and clear skies. In summer, heavy rains fill the Everglades, dispersing wildlife making them harder to see.

At this season, we saw everywhere in the shallow water a ‘ugly’, soft, spongy mat of algae, called periphyton. During the summer rainy season, periphyton floats along the surface, where it is gazed on by fish and tadpoles. During the dry winter months, which is now, animals like snails, crayfish, and insect larvae burrow into its moist interior for survival. So it plays a critical role in the ecosystem here.