Socotra

Socotra, an isolated island in the Arabian Sea far off the coast of Yemen, is one of the most extraordinary natural places on earth, a UNESCO World Heritage site often likened to another planet. Cut off for millions of years, it has evolved a flora and fauna unlike anywhere else, above all the surreal dragon's blood trees, whose umbrella-shaped crowns bristle across the highlands, alongside swollen bottle trees, desert roses and hundreds of endemic plants and birds. Ringed by white beaches, dramatic dunes, limestone caves and turquoise lagoons, this remote, dreamlike island is a living wonder of evolution and one of the world's great natural marvels.

History

Oldowan stone tools found near Hadibo in 2008 show the island's earliest human presence, and in the 1st century AD the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea named it the island of Dioscurides; in Hoq Cave sailors who called between the 1st century BC and the 6th century AD left nearly 250 inscriptions and drawings in South Arabian, Ethiopic, Brāhmī, Greek, Palmyrene and Bactrian. An Aksumite force took the island in 880 and a bishop was consecrated, before an Omani fleet drove the Ethiopians out, and the 10th-century writer Ibn Hawqal called it a dreaded nest of pirates. The Portuguese seized the port of Suq in 1507 but famine and sickness drove them out in 1511, the East India Company kept a garrison in 1834-1835 in the hope of buying the island, and in 1886 Britain made the Mahra sultan sign a protectorate treaty (Wikipedia, Socotra).

Highlights

• The dragon's blood trees - the surreal umbrella-crowned endemic trees.
• The bottle trees - the swollen-trunked cucumber trees and desert roses on the cliffs.
• The beaches and dunes - the white sands, lagoons and dramatic dunes.
• The caves and highlands - the limestone caves and endemic-rich plateaus.

When to go

October to April, outside the fierce summer monsoon winds that can isolate the island, is the season for visiting, with pleasant weather for exploring the highlands, beaches and lagoons; the dragon's blood forests are magical in the soft light of morning and evening. The winter months are calmest for travel and the sea.

Practical notes

Socotra is genuinely remote, reached only by limited flights and requiring organised trips with camping and simple facilities, so a visit takes planning, patience and a spirit of adventure. As the most alien and biologically extraordinary island on earth, a UNESCO World Heritage wonder of dragon's blood trees and endemic life found nowhere else, though, Socotra is an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime marvel.

Nearby

The island's beaches, the Dixam plateau and the Detwah lagoon are its highlights.

Key facts