Toubkal National Park is located in Morocco. It is in the southwestern-central part of the country with an area of 146.7 square miles (380 sq km). The African national park is pleasant for the eyes of travelers as it is also home to many animals and gives a very scenic view.
Mount Toubkal is one of the major highlights of Toubkal National Park. Additionally, the collective Atlas Mountains will thrill the hearts of travelers around the national park. Mount Toubkal is the tallest mountain in North Africa. If you want to know more about Toubkal National Park, keep reading till the end.
Where is Toubkal National Park located?
Toubkal National Park is located in central-western Morocco, 70 kilometers from Marrakesh. The national park was established in 1942. It covers up to an area of 380 km2. To be exact, the location of Toubkal National Park is Tubqal, Rue Toubkal, Monte Arruit, Morocco.
What are the main attractions of Toubkal National Park?
Toubkal National Park is a great attraction for anyone who wants to visit. In Toubkal National Park, visitors get to see beautiful wildlife. While the snow-capped mountains provide a scenic and panoramic view, you will experience a flowery meadowed land with breathtaking greenery, including cedar trees and juniper.
Moreover, the National Park also shows its rich history since its establishment in the museum. Toubkal National Park also shows the endangerment and risk of some animals through the museum.
Its little town, Imlil, is by far one of the best attractions for visitors as they get to see the lifestyle of townspeople in the area. The mix of African and Arab heritage in this little city is more than enough to take you aback. This area is quite famous for trekking as well.
Besides this, Toubkal National Park has been forested only by some 15%. The rest of the park is open. And visitors can see the mountain views from anywhere in the park. High mountain plateaus and deep river valleys make up for its uniqueness. The rivers are formed by the glaciers and melting ice in Toubkal National Park.
Suppose you are around the Toubkal National Park area. In that case, you will also want to visit other parks in the area, such as Haut Atlas Oriental National Park, Khénifra National Park, and Ifrane National Park, which are all nearby to the park in the northeast.
Geology of Toubkal National Park and The Grand Atlas
Mountains in Toubkal National Park are part of the tallest mountains in the High Atlas Range, otherwise known as the Grand Atlas. Many mountains in this area belong to the Grand Atlas. The mountains were built in two different geographical periods. There have been many erosions in the mountains over the years, which differentiates the peaks in Toubkal National Park from the other ones in Grand Atlas.
A huge Paleozoic Massif differentiates the western peaks from the central and eastern peaks. Rift episodes from the Late Sinemurian and Pilensbachian periods are responsible for the other peaks in this range. The peaks rose after the Eurasian and African plates collapsed with one another.
Another shocking aspect about the mountain is that the fossils of a dinosaur called Atlasaurus were found in the eastern mountains of the Toubkal National Park. The remnants of the dinosaur have been proven to be some 180 million years old, also pushing the fact that there were dinosaurs around the Toubkal National Park several million years ago.
Ecology of Toubkal National Park
Toubkal National Park is home to many endangered species. Furthermore, it is also one of the most beautiful places where you can find snow-capped mountains and beautiful greenery. The mountain landscapes have to be a better aspect for anyone who likes to hike and make expeditions while traveling to the national park.
The national park also has some of the most unusual and rare plants and trees. A few that you are likely to see on your visit there would be cedar, Aleppo pine, argan, carob, juniper, holm-oak, and barbary thuya trees.
Some of the most commonly found animals in Toubkal National Park are Barbary sheep, Barbary macaque, bearded vultures, etc., which are almost endangered but have been increasing even by a little with the help of this reservation. Likewise, some of the most usual sightings of raptors may include ones like the booted eagle, Bonelli’s eagle, royal eagle, and short-toed eagle.
Humans in Toubkal National Park
There have been signs of human habitation in Marrakesh for the longest known. And the Toubkal National Park is 70 km (43 miles) from Marrakesh, founded in 1070 CE as the capital of the Almoravid dynasty.
The state was run semi-autonomously, and the humans were all rebellious back in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. While there have always been small villages in the area, there were also smaller communities that ruled as the main natives.
After being conquered by the French troops, Morocco was rebuilt, which welcomed the first ascent of Toubkal in 1923. However, though not recorded, it has been said that there was an earlier ascent of the mountain even before 1923. But the proofs are not as solid.
The Toubkal National Park was established in 1942, and today, it is one of the few protected and preserved areas in the country. Once Morocco was free from the French autocracy, they set up a national park to protect the endangered species and the snow-capped mountains. Moreover, communities like the people of Imlil rose with time around the Toubkal National Park area to guide the tourists and accommodate anyone who visits the park.
City of Imlil around Toubkal National Park
Imlil was built only later in the history of Morocco with the sole aim of accommodating anyone who visits the Toubkal National Park. The people in the Imlil community are always available to work in the service of the ones visiting them. Especially for mountaineers, there will be plenty of guides and porters in the Imlil community.
Moreover, the city is 1,800 meters (5,900 ft) above sea level. While Toubkal Mountains do not have a “base camp,” Imlil can be considered its official base camp as people there are all in the area to serve the national park and its visitors.
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