Five Destinations Where the Goat is King (or Mayor)

Here’s looking at you, kid (photograph by Martin Cathrae)

There’s something about those hourglass goat eyes. Of all the standard livestock you might find on a farm, the goat remains the most curious creature, with a surprising intelligence in its feisty demeanor and intrepid love of climbing just about anything. 

 Inspired by Modern Farmer’s exuberant celebration of Goat Week this lovely September 16 to 20, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite goat-related locales for your hoofstock wanderlust. From a giant Yule Goat that annually goes up in flames to the strange trend of building goat towers, here are five destinations around the world where the goat is king (or, in one instance, mayor):

GAVLE GOAT
Gavle, Sweden

(photograph by Tony Nordin, via Wikimedia)

Woe to the Gävle Yule Goat, who each winter is built in towering, festive glory, and then the Swedish locals take bets on how long it will take for it to inevitably go up in flames, as per popular vandalism tradition.

GOATS ON THE ROOF
Coombs, Vancouver Island, Canada 

A few glasses of wine and some grass on the sod roof that needed cutting resulted in the owner of the Old Country Market in Coombs, Canada, installing a settlement of goats on the roof. 

SILKY O’SULLIVAN’S
Memphis, Tennessee, United States

(photograph by novus_photo/Flickr user)

According to those who keep track of such things, there are four goat towers in the world where the creatures can climb, but Silky O’Sullivan’s bar in Memphis is the only one where the goats climb inebriated after chugging some beer.

THE GOAT TOWER OF FAIRVIEW CHEESE & WINE FARM
Paarl, South Africa

(photograph by Jacobus van Eeden)

But to get to the goat tower that started them all, you must journey to Fairview Farm in South Africa, where the idea was born to give adventurous goats — who are known to even climb on the backs of other livestock for the hell of it — their own tower to climb.

LAJITAS GHOST TOWN
Lajitas, Texas

(photograph by 12fh/Flickr user)

Apparently goats live up to their satyr image, as there’s a drunken goat who serves as mayor of a ghost town in Texas. And he killed his father for the title.

(photograph by psyberartist/Flickr user)

And if you can’t make it out to one of these goat destinations, you can likely find one near you, as goats have made it to just about every corner of the world to cast their enigmatic gaze.