Argan Country

The argan forest that surrounds Essaouira is one of the last remaining stands of Argania spinosa on earth — a tree that exists only in this corner of Morocco and nowhere else. The UNESCO biosphere reserve covers 2.5 million hectares. The goats that climb the branches to eat the fruit are real. The oil pressed from the kernels inside the pits they spit out is what the world now calls liquid gold.