The world’s largest indoor rainforest, called Tropical Island, opened its doors inside a giant zeppelin hangar in Brandenburg, near the German capital Berlin, on 18 December.

The £50m (70m euros, $94m) Tropical Island is the result of a joint venture between Singapore-based Au Leisure and Malaysian construction company Tanjong and is housed in the largest freestanding arched hall in the world.

Facilities inside the hall – which is 360m long and 210m in width – include a 4,000sq m tropical sea with a sandy beach, a 1,200sq m lagoon, seven bars, a multi-purpose sports pitch, five beach volleyball fields and a 3,000-seater tropical village and a marketplace.

The surrounding rainforest is made up of around 500 species of exotic flora and fauna and a group of six villages representing indigenous cultures from Thailand, Borneo, Bali, Polynesia, Kenya and the Amazon.

Each village will offer a restaurant serving food and drink typical to its designated region. Visitors will also be able to wander around in 1.2km of jungle pathways alongside giant lagoons.

Tropical Island employs around 500 staff and has a capacity of 7,000 visitors at a time.