A new 'mystical' Halloween trail will be in place for visitors to enjoy at Chester Zoo this October.

The zoo’s free ‘Luna’s Legendary Creature Halloween Trail’ will run throughout the whole of the month.

Organisers say the spellbinding route, which will see visitors encounter five magical species including the rhinoceros hornbill, Sulawesi-crested macaque and huge Sunda gharial crocodile, will highlight deforestation and the importance of protecting the rainforest.

Guests will be sent on a quest to collect key words about the unique qualities of each animal before helping Luna the witch discover a legendary creature living deep inside the charity zoo’s Monsoon Forest habitat – the UK’s biggest indoor zoological building.

Those who successfully complete the trail will be rewarded with a selection of spooky treats.

Ellie Trigg, the zoo’s customer development manager, said: “There’s a special mystical quest across South East Asia to discover at the zoo this October. We need visitors to help us find ‘Luna’s Legendary Creature’ which holds the secret to protecting the rainforest.

“This new trail will take guests through our huge Monsoon Forest habitat, where visitors will be challenged with collecting a number of key words from five locations to complete their log book and help us discover ‘Luna’s Legendary Creature’.

"For the first time ever, guests will be able to jump on to Halloween-themed boats and take a ride down our Lazy River Boat Journey - spotting bats, skeletons and pumpkins along the way!

“Halloween provides us with a great opportunity to highlight some of the world’s rarest animals, especially those that can sometimes be a little misunderstood or which often fly under the radar. This new trail will also show visitors how small actions, such as swapping a few items in their weekly shop to sustainable alternatives, can help the species found on the trail to thrive in the wild.”

The trail is free to all zoo visitors who purchase normal zoo tickets, with no timeslot booking needed. Visitors can complete the trail at any time throughout the day and it will take around 90 minutes to complete.

Find out more at www.chesterzoo.org/lunas-legendary-creature/