TAZEKKA NATIONAL PARK

TAZEKKA NATIONAL PARK: THE HIKER'S PARADISE

TAZEKKA NATIONAL PARK

     It is in the heart of the Middle Atlas, not far from the town of Taza, that the Tazekka National Park is located, a gem of nature and a real paradise for lovers of hiking and underground depths.

To discover this incredible place, just follow the tourist circuit which starts from the town of Taza and extends over a length of 76 kilometers along a road rich in natural curiosities including waterfalls, caves, and large expanses wooded.

Created on July 11, 1950 by decree viziriel, the Tazekka National Park covers an area of ​​more than 13,000 hectares including an important cedar grove which crowns the summit of the Tazzeka massif, culminating at 1980 meters above sea level and nicknamed the castle of for its role as the main source of spring water for the entire region downstream. In addition to the Atlas cedars, the Park also has forests of holm oaks and cork oaks, zeen oaks and kermes oaks.

It is at the heart of this park that lived, before their disappearance from the region, panthers, striped hyenas, and lynx caracal. However, as part of a Moroccan-German project, a program to reintroduce the Berber deer, which had disappeared from the northern Middle Atlas for nearly three centuries, was launched in 1994 and has since borne fruit.

In terms of landscapes, hikers in love with nature will not be outdone. Several hiking trails allow you to explore the park from every angle.

To see absolutely, the road in cornice which overhangs the cascades of Ras el Ma, at the entrance of the park. A place to discover between November and May, when waterfalls run in abundance.

The Daïa Chiker offers a breathtaking and contrasting panorama with its cultivated terraces, its arboreal oases, its wooded expanses and its escarpments where a hundred caves and chasms are nestled, the most famous of which is the Friouato chasm. '' access for several years following a landslide resulting in the death of a woman.

This chasm is the most impressive in North Africa in its dimensions that make the most experienced cavers dizzy. With its 30 meters in diameter and a depth of 271 meters, the Friouato chasm extends underground over a length of 3500 meters and leads to an underground river.

TAZEKKA NATIONAL PARK

In second place, Tikhoubaï, an abyss of depth just as incredible. Caves, galleries, wells and passageways make explorers happy, although the place is extremely dangerous, especially in the event of a flood or thunderstorm.

Another famous abyss, Chiker, some of which can still be climbed down and its underground river canoeed.

The Saâo abyss is just as impressive although more difficult to access. It is the fifth deepest abyss in Morocco with its 220 meters.

Finally, Chaâra is the name given to a natural slide hidden by a forest of green chains. This is where you can embark on a magnificent underground walk in the riverbed. With its 7650 kilometers in length, it is the second longest cave in Morocco and the 4th on the African continent.

Another spot to discover absolutely, Bab Boudir, a center classified built cultural heritage and which counts within it many sources of water, forests and mountainous relief.