Akhfennir is the gateway to Khnifiss National Park. Here we have broken into the treasure trove of nature! A magnificent marriage of sand dunes and the sea! Garbage left by criminals (barely) spoils the fun. You have to walk along the Naïla lagoon. Un path and a pier lead to the local fishermen, trained as guides, to take a boat trip.

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An information center has been opened there for visitors wishing to discover this treasure of nature.. You will have the choice between several formulas. The full day excursion (400 dirhams, less than 40 euros) allows you to observe birds and stop for a fishing session. In this case, plan a second night at Akhfennir, which will extend your journey by one day!  The blue zone is reserved for bird watching. The white zone gives the opportunity to witness the exploitation of salt. The yellow zone is the hiking zone through the desert hinterland and the cliff. Possibility also of  local 4x4 rides with a guide.

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Unique in the world

 

Huge - its area reaches 185,000 hectares - the Khnifiss National Park, one of the largest in the Kingdom, is a unique protected area in the world, combining three major ecosystems in a single space: the coastal strip, the lake zone and a vast desert portion. The park is composed of fertile land, called "lakrair", and low sea levels, called "sabkhat", as well as coastal plateaus.

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The desert part is inhabited by an incredibly rich fauna. You can observe fennec foxes, porcupines, foxes, red foxes, as well as Cuvier's gazelle. Scientists have identified 82 plant species, 15 endemic species and 14 rare and endangered species. During the coldest months, the Khnifiss Park brings together 20,000 birds of 211 species, including the flamingo, which is king there, the seagull, the gull, the spoonbill, the marbled teal, the  black-tailed or red-tailed godwits, knots and oystercatchers. To your binoculars!

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For migrating birds, crossing the Sahara represents an impossible barrier to overcome. Khnifiss is for them a place  of vital rest and food, to accumulate the necessary fat before continuing their journey south.

 

The memory of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

 

In half an hour you will arrive in Tarfaya. This small town is the last before the border which separates Morocco from Western Sahara which the Kingdom considers as belonging to it. There would be nothing extraordinary about it if it weren't intimately linked to the memory of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The aviator, who was then only a writer in the making, spent 18 months there, in 1926 and 1927, as station manager of the future Aéropostale. Tarfaya was then called Cap Juby.

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In his work"Saint-Exupéry or the power of images", Geneviève Le Hir reports a  correspondence of the aviator  to his mother. "What a monk's life I lead, he writes. In the most remote corner of all of Africa, in the middle of the Spanish Sahara. A fort on the beach, our hut that leans against it and nothing more for hundreds of kilometers and hundreds! […] The planes pass by every eight days. Between them, it's three days of silence." 

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Saint-Exupéry shared his "house" with four French mechanics and ten natives, all employees of the company  Latécoère, who had just hired him. Drawing inspiration from his experiences as an aviator, the loneliness and the desert that surrounds him and that  help him understand the human dimension, he wrote his firstnovel,South mail, at Cape Juby. The publication comes in1929. night flight follows in1931, and met with great success.

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Museum, air rally and raid

 

The most widely read and translated work of French literature in the world after the Bible, "The Little Prince" began to be written during the writer's exile in New York.Saint-Exupéry's stay in Tarfaya clearly inspired him to write his masterpiece, since it tells the strangeencounter between an airman who has broken down in the Sahara and a young boy.

 

A modest Saint-Exupéry Museum was opened in 2004 in Tarfaya, with the help of the "Mémoire de l'Aéropostale" association. The heritage preserved there threatened to disappear with the last mechanic-guard of Saint-Exupéry, who died in 2011.

 

The life of this city of 10,000 souls is also marked, in September, by the passage of theAeropostale Toulouse/Saint-Louis air rally (Senegal). Also every year, at the end of October,the Courrier Sud raid from Agadir, combining running and mountain biking. AsEssaouira or Taghazout, Tarfaya is a windy site. A wind farm was naturally built there. It has 131 turbines. It is the largest park in Morocco after the giant one ofOuarzazate. 

 

Way back 

 

It is high time to return in the direction of Agadir, by National 1, already used for the outward journey, to Guelmim. Just over five hours away, the  longest stage of the course!

 

We selected three addresses on arrival.The Oasis Palm Hotel is at the exit of the city, at the edge of the road  main. You will appreciate its (too?) modern comfort. The second  destination is therea nomadic guest house, at the oasis of Tighmert,already mentioned in the context of the second step above. You will appreciate its charm!Watch Brahim tell you about his family home converted into a riad.  Third good address:The House of the Blue Man, still in Tighmert.

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