The main park in Meknès has recovered all its magnificence following a complete Renovation coordinated by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection.

On Tuesday May 21st, 2024, Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, inaugurated the historic park of Lahboul in Meknès, following the renovation work initiated by the Foundation in partnership with the Urban Commune of Meknès, the General Directorate of Local Authorities, the Prefecture of Meknès, the Regional Council of Fès-Meknès, and the National Agency for Water and Forestry.

The park Lahboul, founded in 1906, is the perfect place for the people of Meknès to take a stroll and relax. It is a vast, five-hectare area in the heart of the city, shaded by century-old trees and palms, with magnificent terraces planted on the slopes of Oued Boufekrane, which makes it look like a suspended park. The last terrace, at its lowest point, offers a 400-metre-long plunging view with the river running through the bottom of the small valley.

The rehabilitation work followed the Foundation’s central principle for all its renovations: to respect the history of the site and the intentions of its founders. Thus, the meticulous layout of the terraces has been respected and reinforced. Their coherent alignment runs parallel to the course of the wadi (river), and is strikingly reminiscent of the layout of the Meudon terrace, of similar length, built in 1690 par André Le Nôtre, the master gardener of Louis XIV. This layout makes it possible to appreciate the full length of the valley, while at the same time offering a diagonal view to the north over a vast landscape and the Saïs plain. 

For this remarkable site of the city that Sultan Moulay Ismaïl made His capital, the rehabilitation work involved redesigning the park’s pathways, installing fountains and ponds, refurbishing the open-air bleachers, arranging the aviaries, restoring the vegetation and the perimeter walls and railings.

In the spirit of the Foundation, parks and gardens are always considered as places for raising awareness of environmental protection. An educational path has been set up for this purpose. It consists of information and awareness points, which were designed following an ideas competition launched by the Foundation as part of its mission to raise awareness and educate students of the National School of Architecture (ENA) in Fez about sustainable development. 

This collaborative initiative by the Foundation is part of a process of experimentation and evaluation of the creative potential of young ENA students, while at the same time giving concrete expression to their commitment to the environment and sustainable development. Over thirty young architects have come up with innovative, interactive modules to enhance this educational approach. 

The educational modules cover the following topics:

• Station: History of the Park  
• Station: History of the Roman columns
• Station: Fountain-Water
• Station: Enigma of ecosystems
• Station: Ecosystems / aromatic plants
• Station: Plant biodiversity
• Station: Shadehouse
• Station: Insect hotel.  

To safeguard this highly valuable cultural and historical site, the Foundation and its partners have initiated the inscription of Lahboul Park as a national heritage-listed site. 

It is worth recalling that the Park Lahboul is the 6th to be rehabilitated by the Foundation as part of its program to restore historic parks and gardens. The Foundation began this program in 2005 with the rehabilitation of Arsat Moulay Abdeslam in Marrakech, a magnificent eight-hectare princely garden close to the Koutoubia mosque; then the following year, the Exotic Gardens of Bouknadel (2005) and its four hectares of lush gardens, Jnane Sbil in Fès (2010), a centuries-old garden, L’Hermitage in Casablanca (2011) with its twelve hectares, Ghabat Chabab in Marrakech in 2022, a 140-hectare area in the heart of the city. Since 2007, the Foundation has also been running a program to safeguard and develop the Palm grove of Marrakech.

To discover the historic park of Lahboul in Meknès, please consult the mobile application via the following link: https://jardinlahboul.ma/