Toubkal National Park is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

in the

High Atlas The High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas, is a mountain range in central Morocco, North Africa, the highest part of the Atlas Mountains. The High Atlas rises in the west at the Atlantic Ocean and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moro ...

mountain range, 70 kilometres from

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

in central-western

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. Established in 1942, it covers an area of 380 km². Jbel Toubkal is the highest peak of the park at 4,167 metres.

Main attractions

The Toubkal National Park offers many attractions to visitors. Climbing to the mountain peak takes two days and offers flowery landscapes in spring and colourful forests of cedar oaks and junipers in autumn. The

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

village of Imlil, surrounded by mountains, is a stop point to immerse oneself in the dwellers' simple lives. The ecomuseum of the Toubkal National Park showcases the history of the park and the ongoing projects about sustainability and protection of endangered species. Maroc Atlas Imlil Luc Viatour 5

Archaeological sites

In October 2012 Salafists were blamed for destroying an 8,000-year-old

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

within the park that depicted the Sun as a divinity.

Geography

Important Bird Area

The park has been designated an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports significant populations of

Barbary partridge The Barbary partridge (''Alectoris barbara'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family (Phasianidae) of the order Galliformes. It is native to North Africa. Distribution The Barbary partridge has its main native range in North Africa, and is also na ...

s, Levaillant's woodpeckers,

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

, Sardinian, spectacled and Tristram's warblers,

Moussier's redstart Moussier's redstart (''Phoenicurus moussieri'') is a small passerine bird in the genus ''Phoenicurus'' (redstarts), formerly classed as a member of the Thrush (bird), thrush family (Turdidae), but is now classified as an Old World flycatcher (Mus ...

s, and black-eared and

black wheatear The black wheatear (''Oenanthe leucura'') is a wheatear, a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found in the Iberian Peninsula and western North Africa. Taxonomy The black wheatear was formally described ...

Mountains

The park contains the following mountains: *

Toubkal Toubkal (, ), also Jbel Toubkal or Jebel Toubkal, is a mountain in central Morocco, located in the Toubkal National Park. At , it is the highest peak in Morocco, the Atlas Mountains, North Africa and the Arab world. Located south of the city o ...

(4167 m) * Ouanoukrim (4089 m ) * Plateau de Tazarhart (3995 m) * L'Aksoual ( 3910 m) * Ineghmar (3892 m) * Bou Iguenouane (3882m) * Le Tichki (3753 m) * Azrou Tamadout (3664 m)

References

Geography of Drâa-Tafilalet Geography of Marrakesh-Safi Geography of Souss-Massa National parks of Morocco Important Bird Areas of Morocco {{Africa-protected-area-stub