The humble capybara is having a moment where they seem to be everywhere. The internet is filled with adorable pictures of baby capybaras creating tremendous demand to meet these creatures in person. Capyfriends Cafe in Helen, Georgia is an opportunity to do just that! This unique experience is a partnership between Nacoochee Adventures and North Georgia Wildlife & Safari Park. At Capyfriends Cafe, guests have the rare opportunity to meet, interact with and learn about these gentle, curious creatures.

The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is the largest rodent in the world and is native to South America. Adults typically weigh between 77 to 150 pounds and have a stocky build, webbed feet, and a short head. Capybaras are social animals, often found in groups near bodies of water, where they spend much of their time swimming or foraging for grass and aquatic plants to eat. They are semi-aquatic and are excellent swimmers. Their unique adaptations allow them to thrive in several natural habitats including savannas, wetlands, and forests. Capybaras are known for their gentle demeanor and often coexist peacefully with various other animal species. Hence “cappyfriends” is a very appropriate term.

The Capyfriends Cafe takes place at Nacoochee Adventures with the animals being brought the short drive from North Georgia Wildlife & Safari Park. There are two potential experiences to choose from, the capybara experience and the capybara and friends experience. The main differences are the length of the total experience, price and if you’re meeting just some capybaras or some additional animals as well. The standard experience is about 30 minutes and will cost you $75/person while the expanded version is $125/person and approaches an hour. We did the standard capybara experience and it was 30 minutes, but we still had a chance to meet a couple friends too, more on that later.

When you arrive at Nacoochee Adventures you’ll be greeted by tons of signage, so there’s no question you’re in the right place. The parking for the location is free and ample. When you walk in you can check in at the counter and then hang out waiting for your experience. There are drinks and basic snacks available for purchase, lots of seating, games to play and even a small gift shop. When it’s time for your encounter to start you’ll be lead down a hall to a room to hang out with some cappybaras!

It’s hard to describe the feeling of excitement when you walk into a room and see baby capybaras waiting for you. You’ll sit on the ground and be given a towel to protect from little claws and some food. The capybaras are really social and will come right up to you. These are all babies and not threatening in the least. They appear to love the snacks and the attention, but they also have areas they can retreat to if they need a break. They’re pretty active and seem to like to work the room. There will be reps from North Georgia Wildlife who are there to help as well as answer questions and give fun capybara facts. However, it’s pretty unstructured time where you’ll be able to get great pictures and videos. Our group was about 8 people, but there were m 4 capybaras so everyone had lots of time with the animals.

In addition to the capybaras we also met a baby Fennec Fox and a baby boar. The Fennec Fox was full of energy and it one point was bouncing around the room like a pinball. The staff called it the “zoomies” and it was a fitting description. We only met him for a couple minutes and it was really there for the people doing the longer capybara and friends experience after us. It was great to have a small taste of that experience though. With that our experience drew to a close, what will probably feel like one of the fastest 30 minutes of your life.

I can’t say enough good things about the Capyfriends Cafe. At $75/person for 30 minutes it’s not cheap, but the memories and social media posts will last forever. These are amazing creatures and your fee will also go to fund the efforts of the North Georgia Wildlife & Safari Park. The park has similar offerings at its own facility along with more exotic ones like a capybara swim experience, but the Capybara experience near downtown is a much more convenient location. If you’re at all curious about capybaras or know someone who does you’re going to want to check this out. They even offer gift cards if you want to give a present for the ages. Capyfriends Cafe is a well organized, fun and unique animal encounter experience that adds another wonderful thing to do in Helen, Georgia.