Souss-Massa National Park

About this place

A national park on the Atlantic coast, created in 1991 over some thirty-three thousand eight hundred hectares, stretching from the Souss estuary south of Agadir to the town of Aglou, with the Massa river mouth at its centre. It takes in grazed steppe, sand dunes, beaches and wetlands. Its global importance lies in the endangered northern bald ibis: the park holds three of Morocco's four colonies of the bird, and together with the fourth site at nearby Tamri they hold about ninety-five percent of the world's wild breeding birds of the species, nesting on the coastal cliffs. Around two hundred and fifty bird species are recorded here, many of them migrants resting at the Massa estuary, along with desert animals reintroduced into fenced areas, among them addax antelopes. Walking trails offer views over the estuary, the dunes and the ocean. Walking the park's trails is generally free, while guided birdwatching trips are paid. The best birding is early morning in spring and autumn; bring binoculars and water, as services inside the park are few.