Marrakesh Travel Forum

Hello all,
My husband and I will be in Spain in November and will take the ferry to Africa. We'd like to spend a day or 2 there. We were wondering if anyone can explain a bit more about the tree climbing goats and if & where we could see them. We will be driving along the coast but where sould we go to see them. Can anyone recommend the best drive to take for the best scenery. We only have 2 days but might extend that to 3 days. Greatful for any help.
Jandar

The argan tree produces a fruit in July. The goats are then allowed to climb the trees to eat the fruit; they digest the fruit but excrete the nut. The nut contains a seed that is pressed to produce an oil.

I think that you will not see any goats in November. In any case, the best place would be near Essaouira.

In the limited time you have, I would spend one night in El Jadida, and one or two nights in Essaouira. Marrakech is only a few hours from Essaouira. It's unfortunate that you will not be spending at least a week in Morocco!

Thank-you very much fo your recommendation. I'm so sorry I'll be there at the wrong time.

We saw them near Essaouria in December - though what we actually saw was goats being pushed up the trees by people who wanted money for photos. The goats didn't seem that keen on the idea.

I was in Morocco in October 2007 and we saw plenty of goats in the argan trees - nobody pushing them with a stick. We were traveling from Marrakech to Essaouira (sorry, don't know the name of the road/route, but it appeared to be the main road to travel from city to city). It was quite a site! Essaouira was a great, relaxing town on the water, especially coming from the dusty, frenetic souks in Marrackech. (for photos check out my morocco page)

Thank-you very much jylnc. You have given us hope to see these. W'll go at the start of our vacation as we'll be in Spain for a month and arrive Oct 31. We'll also check out going to Essaouira as it sounds lovely. I did check out your Morroco page and we would also like to see The Atlas Mtns. The Tizi n' Tichka pass sounds great. Have you ever been to Cape Breton in Canada? The drive through the highlands is incredible and very high up. We did it in an RV and the roads are pretty narrow in places. I kept my eyes closed on some turns. This sounds even better. Can we drive to the Sahara desert, just to see a bit of it? Thanks again.

I'm not sure you'll be able to fit it all in if you only have a few days. we got to the Sahara via ouarzazate/mergouza, which is quite far from essaouira - i think our driver said it would be 8 hours if we did not stop over in Marrakech. The drive through the Atlas was pretty, but was also slow going at some parts, as buses and trucks also use this road (i didn't think the switchbacks were terrible, compared to some other roads i've been on). if you've got 3 days, you may wish to just stick to the coast and maybe, if you've got time, hop over to Marrakech. it's not a long drive (2 hrs?) from Essaouira but is a stark contrast! I hope you enjoy your trip and that you get to see the goats in the tree! it really is a funny sight.