Ichkeul Lake, Tunisia
Lake Ichkeul has been a Unesco World Heritage site since 1980, but it’s been managed as a hunting reserve at least as far back as the 13th century. The lake’s surrounds – marsh, floodplain and forested hills – are home to wild boars, jackals, mongooses, porcupines, foxes and otters, but the real attraction is the wide variety of bird species. In winter, migratory waterbirds descend on the lake in their tens of thousands.
Sign in at the entrance and then park at the old hot springs 3km further on. Boards give information not just about the wildlife, but the local tradition of women saying prayers to Oummek Dereb, a freshwater turtle that lives in the lake, to help them conceive.
Epic Tunisia Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
Own or work here?
