Socotra - Yemen's forgotten island paradise
Fascinating Natural Wonders on the Galapagos of the Middle East
Jul 21, 2009
Cast adrift from the mainland at least six million years ago and with its own distinct culture and language, Socotra is the definition of a land apart.
This isolated speck of land marooned in the Indian Ocean 340km south east of Yemen is not paradise lost. It’s barely even paradise found. Yet the island is now attracting a steady trickle of explorers enticed by one of the most unique ecosystems on the planet.
An Intriguing Destination For Lovers of Unusual Plants and Wildlife
Its plants and animals exhibit a degree of endemism only just overshadowed by the Galapagos. Almost 35% of its flora is unique along with a significant percentage of its birdlife and almost all its few reptiles. Factor in a dramatic landscape that takes in rugged mountains, vast tablelands, powder-soft white sand beaches and pristine coral formations and you begin to see why Yemen‘s tourist authorities are beginning to push its southernmost outpost as a means of salvaging an economy beaten to a pulp by civil war and ongoing security issues.
As is the way of things in a nation where progress comes at a pace a narcoleptic sloth might consider to be a little sluggish, however, this push amounts to more of a nudge than a whole-hearted shove. There are still only two flights a week here from the country’s capital Sana’a and itineraries can only be arranged through a handful of local operators.
It’s not exactly plain sailing once you are there either. Accommodation is limited to camp sites and a smattering of interchangeable hotels in the main town Hadibu for whom the term ‘rustic’ might well have been invented. You can forget about getting a mobile phone reception while enquiring after an ATM or a credit card facility will only prompt puzzled glances - hardly surprising since the island only adopted money in the 1990s. A guide is also a necessity as pidgin Arabic won’t get you very far outside Hadibu where the ancient and unwritten south Arabian language of Socotri is almost exclusively spoken.
With no public transport or self-drive options available, the only way to get around the island’s bone-clattering byways is via the resident population of battered Toyota Landcruisers. Despite these difficulties, the wild, empty beaches, mountain views and unique wildlife make for a visual spectacular that for once conforms to the cliché “like nothing you have ever seen before.”
Mountains, Camel Safaris, Snorkelling and Diving
Highlights include the Diksam plateaux where the island’s most recognisable icon, the dragon’s blood tree, flourishes in the greatest profusion. From here, it is possible to undertake a trek amidst the 5000metre high peaks of the Haghier massif with or without the help of camels.
For those with less energy and less time, a walk to the pools in Wadi Dirhur near Diksum is recommended as is a visit to the marine protected area of Dihamri where the crystal clear waters offer fantastic opportunities for snorkelling or diving.
There’s little in the way of things to do in the evening in Socotra, but most people make their way to the Taj Socotra Hotel in Hadibu where fresh fish, vegetable curry and delicious fresh-baked khobz bread is washed down with bottles of non-alcoholic Becks beer.
 |
 |
