North African Adventure I – National Parks

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Since in the past we had a series of blog entries about places to visit in South Africa, I thought that it was about time to do a bit of exploring in the northern parts of this fascinating continent as well. There are several popular tourist destinations in North Africa, think about Tunisia, Algeria or Egypt, for example.

But beyond these conventional holiday spots, as exciting as they may be, there are hundreds of places worth visiting in North Africa. I thought that like before, we could start with the most beautiful national parks in the northern regions of the African continent, because after all, there is no better way to discover a place’s natural beauties.

Tassili n’Ajjer National Park, Algeria

This park is not only outstandingly picturesque, but it is also of great geographical interest due to its eroded sandstone forests. Also, there is a huge number of prehistoric caves in the area, where you can admire some of the most amazing cave art in the world.

There are over 15,000 neolithic pictures that chronicle the life of the people who lived there 8000 years ago, as well as the wildlife and climatic conditions of those times.

Ras Mohammed National Park, Egypt

This is the first and most popular national park in Egypt, and it is by no means a regular one. First of all, it is an underwater park, located at 20km south of Sharm El Sheikh, in the Red Sea.

The park is surrounded by corral reefs and hosts an amazing variety of aquatic life, from pelagic fish to various species of corral. Obviously, you will have to scuba dive to see it, but considering that some of the highlights of the park have names like Anemone City, it must surely be worth the effort.

Zakouma National Park, Chad

This park is still under development, but is is Chad’s largest and oldest national park. Sadly, many of the indigenous animal populations have dwindles, but there are enough species of wildlife to attract visitors. You’ll be able to observe  44 species of large mammals in this park, in addition to countless species of reptiles, birds and fish.

Banc d’Arguin National Park, Mauritania

This will be the perfect wildlife-watching experience for you if you are interested in migratory birds. Forget your regular storks and wild ducks, in Banc d’Arguin we’re talking pelicans, flamingoes and Eurasian Spoonbills. The park is virtually one of the largest and most diverse communities of nesting migratory birds on the planet. The park welcomes visitors at all times of the year, and it is a great promoter of eco-tourism in the region.

Boucle du Baoulé National Park, Mali

This park is famous not only for the extraordinary number of wildlife species it hosts, but also for the wealth of prehistoric art hidden in its caves. The park has regions of dry savannah interlaced with lush riverine forests, but its highlights are the over 200 archeological sites, tombs and ancient burial grounds.

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