Dixam Plateau
Socotra's central limestone plateau, where the dragon's blood trees grow thickest.
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UNESCO World Heritage
The Dixam plateau runs across the middle of Socotra at around a thousand metres, limestone country cut by deep wadis, and it carries the island's best stands of Dracaena cinnabari, the dragon's blood tree, whose branches divide and redivide into a flat mushroom crown and whose resin bleeds red. The Firmihin forest on its edge is the densest remaining stand. UNESCO inscribed the archipelago in 2008.
What you actually see
- The dragon's blood trees - the umbrella-crowned Dracaena the island is known for.
- The Firmihin stand - the densest surviving forest of them on the plateau edge.
- The wadis - the deep cuts through the limestone, including Wadi Dirhur.
- The red resin - the sap that gives the tree its name, still collected.
When to go
October to April is the cool season and the practical window. The summer monsoon from June closes the island's transport. Nights on the plateau are cold.
Honest expectations
The dragon's blood forests are not regenerating: goats eat the seedlings and the stands are ageing with no replacement. Access to Socotra requires arrangements made well in advance. There is no infrastructure on the plateau beyond camps.
Nearby
Hadibu is north, and Homhil is northeast.
What to pack for Dixam Plateau
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.