Parc animalier de Merlet, Mountain wildlife park in Les Houches, France
Parc animalier de Merlet is a wildlife park on the site of an old alpine hamlet at 1,550 meters above Les Houches in the Chamonix valley. Its 21 hectares of grassy slope hold two small wooden huts, a chalet-style building with a dark shingled roof, an open-sided shelter and a shallow rock-bordered pond, below forested slopes and snow-capped peaks. Around 60 to 100 animals of seven or eight large mammal species, including ibex, chamois, mouflon, fallow deer, sika deer, llama and marmot, move freely across the grounds.
Merlet was a mountain hamlet inhabited year-round until around 1900, when its residents moved down to the valley and the site became an alpine pasture. Philippe Cachat, a resident of Chamonix, created the wildlife park there in 1967-1968, with Bambi, a tame chamois, as its first mascot. The Cachat family has run the private park since then. In December 2023 the ibex François, mascot for twelve years and known on social media, died of old age.
The park displays animals native to alpine regions, and visitors come here to understand how wildlife adapts to mountain life. The grounds feature areas where people can observe marmots, chamois, and ibex while exploring the high-altitude terrain.
It is best to go early in the day when animals are more active and the paths are less crowded. Weather in the mountains changes quickly, so bring warm clothing even if it is warm down below.
The park has never been connected to the electricity grid: all its power comes from 60 square metres of solar panels and a small water turbine producing up to 2.3 kW, with surplus stored in a bank of 24-volt batteries and converted back to 220 volts when needed. Its waterless toilets use the Ecosphere system, also employed at the Trifthütte in Switzerland.
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