Le Jardin aux Etoiles
Riad between Agadir and Taroudant, in southern Morocco
Holiday rental with a resident of Swiss nationality
Souss-Massa Park:
see gazelles, antelopes and ostriches up close
Good plan
restaurant
Last colony of the bald ibis in the world, but also intended to reconstitute the great fauna of the Sahara, the Souss-Massa National Park is one of the most interesting animal reserves in North Africa,40 minutes from our riad. Private operators offer a visit to the Saharan fauna repopulation park, from the oryx to the dorcas gazelle. A real and original discovery! To be carried out exclusively through these operators. Private visits are not allowed, so that the park maintains its calm and cleanliness.
Une bonne entrée en matière
Excellent dans ses explications à l'intérieur du pavillon d'information
Très bien faits, ils permettent de comprendre la mission du parc en un clin d'oeil
Ils remontent à l'époque du Protectorat français
Animal grâcieux par excellence
En ombres chinoises
Un animal difficile à observer de près... à moins que la chance ne vous sourie
On peut photographier les animaux de très près. Demandez à votre guide de vous arrêter là où vous le souhaitez !
Ces antilopes aiment à se prélasser... Vous les approcherez avec votre caméra sans problème
Chauffeur et guide proposés par Exclusive Travel Services
Des installations protégées permettent de descendre de voiture tout au long du parcours, pour mieux observer la nature environnante
Le parc de Souss Massa est vraiment magnifique
Les Oryx comme les Addax aiment vivre de manière grégaire
A fin 2015, 20 oryx ont été déplacés dans la station d'acclimatation de M'cissi, en vue de préparer la réintroduction de cet animal dans la nature, à Errachidia et à Boujdour.
Affichée dans notre Salon Atlas, elle montre les principaux animaux qu'on peut admirer au Parc national de Souss Massa
The Massa reserve is part of the Souss-Massa National Park, which covers 33,000 hectares and 75 kilometers of coastline. Download the park map below. The Moroccan Kingdom breeds gazelles, antelopes and endangered ostriches there.
The goal? Repopulate the immense Saharan expanses of which it is the thousand-year-old habitat. A donation of animals has already been made for the benefit of Tunisia and other gestures of this type are envisaged.
In November 2015, 20 oryx from the La Massa reservewere moved to the M'cissi acclimatization station,in the Province of Tinerhir, with a view to preparing for the reintroduction of this animal into the wild,Errachidia and toBoujdour.
Some claim that these gazelles and antelopes also lived in the region of Agadir. But this fact has not been established with certainty. Download the brochure "From the oryx to the dorcas gazelle" below.
Discovery tour and information pavilion operational
Created for visitors, a discovery circuit of the Animal Park of Souss-Massa has been designed to follow two fenced reserves and contemplate the animals up close.The start of the circuit is in Rockein, some 40 minutes from the Jardin aux Etoiles. A brand new information pavilion has been built there by the Moroccan authorities. Large panels explain the characteristics of the animals raised in the reserve. Funded by the Aquitaine Region, maps and information are available to visitors. They can be downloaded below.
This first reserve brings together the impressive long-horned addax antelope, the dama mhor gazelle, the dorcas gazelle and the red-necked ostrich. The second reserve, that of Arouais, further south, extends over a landscape of dunes. It is the refuge of the oryx antelope and other dorcas gazelles.
"Nature safaris" to be booked with an approved operator
This very commendable information effort was not followed up with effects for a long time. It is now different. The visitor who goes to Rockein on an individual basis will have to turn back. On the other hand, those who have booked a day or half a day with one of the approved operators will have the joy of admiring these magnificent animals up close.
However, groups must respect specific rules imposed by the Park Management: timetable, quietness of the animals, cleanliness, as well as the places provided for rest stops.
To book, contact the following approved operators, all based in Agadir:
Exclusive Travel Services Morocco, contact@exclusive-morocco.com, +212 528 84 84 46
Sahara Tours International, reservation@sti.ma, +212 528 84 04 21
Decameron Explorer, contact@decameronexplorermaroc.com, +212 528 84 15 15
Time Travel, contact@timetravelmorocco.com, +212 528 82 71 71
Maghrib Voyages, maghrib.voyages@hotmail.fr, +212 528 84 53 54
Other services are offered in addition to the animal park visit packages. Sahara Tours, for example, has developed a mini-safari that takes participants to the Youssef Ibn Tachfin dam and Tiznit.
AT40 minutes
from the Garden to the Stars.
Only visits made
with tourist operators are
allowed.
The world's last colony of bald ibises
The northern bald ibis is an endangered bird. There are only a few hundred specimens left on the planet and the last colony in the world - some 300 individuals - is at the mouth of the Massa wadi on the Atlantic, whose brackish water is held back by a natural sand dyke.
These rare birds have lately moved to70 kilometers north of Agadir, in Tamri, near Cape Ghir, as well as south of the Massa wadi, in Aglou, where according to some information they are more easily seen than on the outskirts of the Massa. These quite magical observation sites attract scientists from all over the world.
Flamingos, herons, cormorants, ducks and coots
It is easy to find local guides to accompany you in the discovery of the fauna of the Massa wadi. With or without them, equipped with your binoculars, you can discover pink flamingos in elegant groups, herons, cormorants, ducks and coots. With a little luck, you will distinguish these famous bald ibises between the acacias and the tamarisks, or quite simply by the sea.
We regularly see wild boars walking along the edge of the wadi. Impure in the eyes of Islam, they are not wanted, so they multiply. Wild boar hunts are however organised.
Scène de pêche
On peut l'examiner sous toutes ses coutures au pavillon d'information du parc
Ces plantes, qui ne sont pas des cactus, se plaisent dans le parc de Souss Massa
La dernière colonie au monde se trouve dans la région d'Agadir
Des couleurs uniques
C'est ici que la rivière se rapproche de l'Atlantique. Une digue naturelle de sable empêcher toutefois la plupart du temps l'eau de s'écouler dans l'océan
Il faut parfois beaucoup de patience pour apercevoir les magnifiques oiseaux du Parc de Souss-Massa
Chargé de protéger les animaux, il fournit aussi volontiers des informations
A proximité de l'océan et de l'embouchure de la rivière