About This Park
Jbil National Park
Attached to the governorate of Kébili, the delegation of Douz, the national park of Jebil (or Jbil) the great national park of the Sahara, it is located about 80 km south of Douz, and nearly 100 km from the city of Kebili . It belongs to Cherkhats of Glissia and Zaafrane. It covers a total area of 150,000 hectares.
Jebil National Park is Tunisia’s largest national park. Access to the park is from a track on the Douz base. Its creation was formalized on October 24, 1994. A few millennia ago, the site was of the shrubby pseudo-savannah type typical of the sub-Saharan middle. The biological characteristics of this ecosystem, through their ecological and scientific interests, justified the creation of a national park in the late 1980s.This 12,600 hectare park has been included on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a biosphere reserve.
Jebil National Park is home to thousands of migratory birds such as greylag geese, whistling ducks, coots, storks. Passerines, raptors, reptiles, turtles and buffaloes have also found their euphoria in this park.
To top it all off, an eco-museum explains how the park’s ecosystem works at the top of a hill.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Jbil National Park is a vast desert protected area located about 80 km south of Douz, covering a total area of 150,000 hectares, of which 12,600 hectares form the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve core zone. It encompasses sand dunes, shrubby pseudo-savannah, and rocky desert landscapes of the northern Grand Erg Oriental.
Jbil is home to a range of desert-adapted species including the North African fennec fox, golden jackal, striped hyena, Cape hare, and several species of desert lizard and viper. Migratory birds including greylag geese and white storks pass through seasonally.
Yes. A small ecomuseum situated on a hilltop within the park provides information about the desert ecosystem, local wildlife, and the traditional cultures of the nomadic communities that have historically used this landscape.
Access to Jbil requires a 4WD vehicle and is most practical from Douz as a base. Guided Sahara excursions from Douz typically include driving through the park's sand sea. Entry permits and local guides are recommended for safety and ecological sensitivity.
The park encompasses contrasting desert landscapes: the dramatic ergs (sand seas) of the northern Grand Erg Oriental with their towering dunes, and the more vegetated shrubby plains (pseudo-savannah) of the park's northern margins where desert plants provide sparse cover.
Yes. Jbil is typically included in multi-day southern Tunisia itineraries combining the Douz oasis, Ksar Ghilane and the Tisavar Fort, the Chott el Djerid salt lake, the mountain oases of Tozeur, and the Berber villages of Matmata.
