My sister has been obsessed with alpacas for some time, and this obsession is… intense. Just like a fangirl poring over videos of their favorite K-pop bands, she spends a big chunk of her day scrolling through alpaca photos on Instagram.

When her birthday was coming, it seemed like a perfect gift to take her to an alpaca farm. She literally screamed when I told her, jumping up and down as if she hit a jackpot (maybe it was a jackpot for her).

So that weekend, we drove to Skepplanda Alpackagård, an alpaca farm near Gothenburg. The owner, Katarina, welcomed us right as we drove into the farm. We came in July, just 2 months after they were sheared. They’re pretty ‘bald’, but still cute nonetheless.

Meet the alpacas!

Katarina explained briefly about their fur, and we touched the soft, fluffy fabrics that were there for sales. Soon after that, she led us to the gate, where these female alpacas, thinking we had treats for them, were coming toward us.

This could be a cover for alpaca girl band album if such thing existed.

And these alpacas… Where do I even begin to explain how unbelievably cute they are? Let me just show you some of my favorite photos of their faces and expressions.

From top left, clockwise: the haughty, the cheeky, the innocent, and the curious alpacas.

A little bit about alpacas

We learned a lot about alpacas that day. For instance, they didn’t like to be touched. We were being very careful about this, since they could spit when they got distressed. The other times when they would spit is when they’re pregnant, or when they don’t like their mating partners.

They’re intelligent animals, and they always pee and poo in a designated place. In fact, I caught one doing both.

This one was good at multitasking.

We also caught two alpacas in action.

Smooches!

When it’s a mating season, the owner would put a male and a female alpaca in a sort of playpen. It’s hard to tell if the alpaca is pregnant (spitting is one of the signs, but then again it could mean that she doesn’t like the male alpaca). Katarina told us that it’s hard to know the due date, so they had to be ready at all times closer to the delivery time. Although alpacas can naturally do this by themselves, the owners liked to be there just in case.

We were lucky that at the time we visited, there was a baby alpaca that was only a month old. She looked bright and curious, and lucky for me, I got it on camera when she was feeding.

An adult alpaca eats approximately 1 kg of hay every day, and this summer it became a challenge as the grass was quite dry and the hay prices had increased.

Lunch time, when they were completely ignoring us.

More alpaca photos…

It’s safe to say that my sister liked her birthday present. She was in absolute heaven.

And so were we.

Don’t be fooled, it’s not all the time that these alpacas happily walked toward us. Most of them were just enjoying their best life, chilling.

Just looking at them made me feel happy and relaxed. I guess it was contagious.

How to book a visit

If you’d like to visit Skepplanda Alpackagård, you can book through their website or Facebook page. Private viewing costs 150 SEK/person, while a guided tour costs 100 SEK per/person (for adults). You can pay with cash or Swish.

It’s strongly recommended that you book first, since they regulate the number of visitors for the sake of the alpacas’ well-being :).

How to get there

Skepplanda Alpackagård address:

Färdsle 153
Skepplanda 44692

We rented a car to go there, but it’s also reachable by public transport. It takes about 1.5 hours from Gothenburg by busses, and the last bus stop is right across the path to the farm entrance.

I’d strongly recommend this place. These alpacas are the cutest animals I’ve seen, and I’ve grown very fond of them. Katarina was very friendly and welcoming. She explained everything about alpacas and I didn’t know I’d enjoyed learning about them so much.

And if you need more convincing, just look at this face.

Visit me and my friends!

Have you seen alpacas in real life before?