Dayet Erroumi

Dayet Erroumi is a shallow lake of a few hundred hectares on the Zemmour plateau near Khemisset, fringed with reed and tamarisk and surrounded by cereal fields, and it is the nearest lake of any size to Rabat - which explains its main use, as a picnic and fishing spot for families driving out from the coast at weekends. Its other value is ornithological: it holds a good winter population of ducks and grebes, with marbled teal and white-headed duck among the species recorded, both of which are of conservation concern in the western Mediterranean, along with coot, heron and marsh harrier. Winter, after the rains have filled it, is the season; by late summer it can be much reduced. There is no infrastructure - no hides, no marked paths, and the birds are watched from the bank or from a track around part of the shore.

What you actually see

• A reed-fringed plateau lake - a few hundred hectares in cereal country.
• Winter wildfowl - ducks and grebes including marbled teal and white-headed duck.
• A weekend picnic lake - families out from Rabat and Khemisset.
• No infrastructure - watched from the bank, with no hides or paths.

When to go

November to April, after the rains. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It shrinks substantially in late summer. Weekend litter around the accessible shore is significant. There are no facilities. Tracks are muddy after rain.

Nearby

Khemisset is east; Rabat is west on the coast.