Monkeying Around in Azrou

Azrou, Morocco

Just south of Fez is a small town called Azrou. It’s situated beside the slightly more famous ski-town of Ifrane (the Switzerland of Morocco). The word ‘Azrou’ means ‘big rock’, and while there actually is a big hill-like rock in town, Azrou is more commonly known for its surrounding forests and rolling hills. The most renowned is Cedre Gouraud – a large cedar forest just east of the city center. It also happens to be the home of a rare species of monkey. The Barbary Macaque is endemic to Northern Africa (and Gibraltar) and families of monkeys can be found in abundance in this forest. Mac and I definitely did some monkeying around in Azrou, but we also took time to explore the area surrounding the city.

In Town Hike

Just past the cemetery heading south out of town is a small trail that weaves through the trees and beside a small river. Mac and I followed this trail as it led us further and further uphill until we eventually reached a lookout point. From this height we could see the entire town below us.

I’ll never tire of seeing freshly laundered clothes hung out to dry contrasted with the abundance of satellite dishes. Both represent the habits of daily life but they are centuries apart in their creation, yet they are used simultaneously every single day.

On the way back into town we shared the trail with a local family out harvesting firewood. They carried huge stacks of freshly chopped logs on their backs and navigated along the rocky trail with ease. While I on the other hand remained distracted by the views and found myself nearly twisting an ankle with every step. (Despite having danced ballet for fourteen years, I am not what one would call graceful or agile!)

Cedre Gouraud

The highlight of our time in Azrou was spent in the Cedre Gouraud forest, just a few kilometres southeast of the city centre.  This area is filled with criss-crossing trails and trees so high you nearly kink your neck craning to see the tops.

Monkeying Around in Azrou

Cedre Gouraud is most frequently visited because it is home to a small population of Barbary Macaques. If you’re at all familiar with the rock of Gibraltar, chances are that you’ve heard about the monkeys that tear into your backpack to glean food, crawl on the shoulders of unsuspecting tourists, and cause general mayhem for those visiting or living on the rock. Well, those are Barbary Macaques. When left alone, these monkeys travel in family groups of 7-10 and spend their time in the trees or foraging on the ground for food.

But of course us humans can never leave well enough alone and such is the case in Cedre Gouraud. At each of the entrances to the forest there are touts selling bags of peanuts to feed to the monkeys and visitors flock at a chance to get up close and personal to these otherwise wild creatures. This has had some seriously negative consequences as the monkeys have now become dependent on the free food and many show signs of obesity, diabetes, poor dental health, and more. These monkeys have stopped doing typical monkey things such as grooming each other, foraging for food, and playing.

Not wanting to participate in that nonsense (monkeys don’t eat peanuts!!!), Mac and I sought refuge in the forest. The trees quickly surrounded us in peace and quiet and we felt an instant calm rush over us. We had been hiking for about half an hour when the peace and quiet was suddenly disturbed by a rustling in the nearby trees. Mac and I cautiously approached the noise only to be greeted by the curious faces of about seven monkeys peering down at us from up in the trees!

Mac and I watched in awe as they quickly ignored us and went about their day. The little ones jumped from tree to tree, and many sat grooming themselves in the sunlight. A few of the bigger ones were down on the ground overturning rocks looking for food. It was such a cool experience and we had to tear ourselves away from these tree-jumping little cuties.

We continued on our merry way towards a lookout point where we sat down to enjoy a late-afternoon picnic. Mac and I were just chatting about how we hadn’t seen any other hikers yet, and how quiet and empty-seeming the forest was. Well, it wasn’t two minutes after that comment when an adult Barbary Macaque jumped up onto a nearby tree branch and did his best to pretend he wasn’t interested in our snacks. We immediately scanned the nearby forest for signs of more monkeys but we didn’t see any.

We kept eating our lunch until Mr. Monkey got a little ambitious and started moving closer towards us in incremental steps. First he jumped down to a lower branch, then one more, and finally onto the ground less than 10m from us. (At this point we started cramming our food back in our day packs!) Mr. Monkey then made a bee-line straight towards us until we finally lost at the game of chicken and walked/ran back towards the forest.

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The whole time this was taking place we were keeping an eye on the forest. It seemed weird that Mr. Monkey would be alone, but we kept checking the nearby ground and trees and couldn’t see any other signs of monkey-kin. Well we must have been temporarily blinded because in the forest right behind where we were enjoying our picnic were about eight more monkeys of various sizes! They were roaming in and around the trees and occasionally chasing each other higher and higher up the trunks. Mr. Monkey soon joined his clan (having realised we were not going to be a source of food) and the whole lot of them quickly went about ignoring us. It was so cool to watch them play so close to us.

Parting Thoughts

I was thrilled when we saw the first pack playing in the trees. But being able to see two families up close was such a thrill! We were on a high as we walked towards the highway to catch a taxi back into town. That is until we were greeted again by touts selling peanuts and fat monkeys crowding around the free handouts. PSA: If you find yourself in Azrou and opt for a day trip to Cedre Gouraud, please do not feed the wildlife!! This applies everywhere, not just small Moroccan villages. Let’s keep the wildlife wild and respect nature in the process. It is possible to get your fix of monkeying around in Azrou, but please do so in a way that is respectful and in accordance with Leave No Trace principles.

Practical Information

We took a shared grand taxi to Ougmas (Oukmas) for 7dh each. From there we walked through the forest on a barely-there trail towards Cedre Gouard. We hiked a short loop trail before hiking up to the lookout point. From there it was a quick walk to the highway where you can walk the 7km back into town or flag down a taxi, local bus, or friendly Moroccan.

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