What national parks does Morocco have?

Morocco has a genuinely good network of national parks, and they protect a far wider range of landscapes than people expect from a country so associated with desert — snow-capped mountains, cedar forests, coastal wetlands, lush river gorges and arid steppe all have protected areas. Most visitors experience them without quite realising they're in a national park, because the parks overlap with so many of the classic destinations. Let me walk you through the ones that matter most for travellers.

Toubkal National Park in the High Atlas is the big one for mountain lovers — it surrounds Jebel Toubkal, at 4,167m the highest peak in North Africa, and is the heart of Atlas trekking. Even if you're not summiting, the park's valleys around Imlil, Berber villages, walnut groves and dramatic peaks make for some of Morocco's finest hiking and day walks. Souss-Massa National Park, on the coast just south of Agadir, protects estuary, lagoon and dune habitats and is famous among birders as one of the last refuges of the rare northern bald ibis, as well as a great spot for flamingos and waders.

In the north, Talassemtane National Park covers the green, forested Rif Mountains around Chefchaouen and contains the Akchour waterfalls and God's Bridge — a lush, watery landscape that surprises everyone. In the Middle Atlas, Ifrane National Park protects the magnificent Atlas cedar forests around Ifrane and Azrou, home to the wild Barbary macaques and that cool, almost European mountain scenery. These two alone show how varied "natural Morocco" really is.

There are several more worth knowing. Tazekka National Park near Taza has cedar forest, caves and a high peak; Al Hoceima National Park protects a stretch of rugged Mediterranean coast and cliffs; Tazekka, Khenifiss (a coastal lagoon in the south, important for birds) and the desert-edge reserves around the Sahara protect drier ecosystems and reintroduced species like oryx and gazelle in certain fenced areas. Toubkal aside, infrastructure in some parks is fairly low-key, which keeps them wild and uncrowded.

In practice, I weave parks into itineraries by destination rather than treating them as standalone goals — Atlas trekking is Toubkal, a Chefchaouen hike is Talassemtane, the cedar-forest monkeys are Ifrane, the Agadir birding is Souss-Massa. If protected landscapes and wildlife are a real priority for your trip, tell me and I'll build the route to take in two or three contrasting parks, which makes for a wonderfully varied nature-focused journey.