Vallee des Oiseaux Agadir

The Vallée des Oiseaux is a long narrow park laid through the middle of Agadir between the seafront and the main avenue, planted with palms and shade trees and with a stream and a footpath running its length, and along it are aviaries and enclosures: parakeets, flamingos, waterfowl, songbirds, along with mouflon, goats, wallabies and a few other mammals, plus a children's playground and benches. It is free, which is unusual, and it functions mainly as the shaded route between the beach and the town, used by families and by people walking to work. Standards of enclosure vary and some of them are small by any modern zoo measure, which is worth saying plainly - it is a park with animals in it from an older tradition rather than a conservation facility. As a green shaded strip in a city with little else, it does its job.

What to look for

• A shaded strip - a narrow planted park cutting through the centre of the city.
• Aviaries along the path - parakeets, flamingos, waterfowl and songbirds.
• Mouflon and wallabies - a small mixed mammal collection alongside.
• Free entry - unusual, and the reason it is used as a walking route.

When to go

October to May; morning or late afternoon. An hour.

Before you go

Some enclosures are small and dated - it is an old-style municipal animal park, not a conservation site. It closes at midday for a period. The playground gets crowded at weekends. It is a walk-through rather than a destination.

Nearby

The beach promenade is west; Avenue Hassan II is east.