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Socotra Island, Republic of Yemen
| Location | Socotra Island, Republic of Yemen | Date | November 12, 2010 | Views | 10438 |
| Source | matadornetwork.com; socotraislandadventure.com; en.wikipedia.org socotra.info | Rate | |||
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About Socotra Island - The Most Alien-Looking Place On Earth
Socotra is part of the Republic of Yemen. It has long been a part of the 'Adan Governorate, but in 2004 it became attached to the Hadhramaut Governorate, which is much closer to the island than 'Adan (although the closest governorate would be Al Mahrah). Socotra Island People and CultureThe Socotra Archipelago is divided into two administrative districts, Hadibo and Qalansiya, which also includes the islands of Abdul Kuri, Darsa and Samhah. Both districts come under the administration of the Governor of Hadramaut in al-Mukalla, The population of the entire Archipelago is estimated at 70,000 , with most people living on Socotra Island and concentrated in the capital town of Hadibo and the western town of Qalansiya. Owing to the isolation of the islands, the ancient language of Socotra was able to survive. Today both Socotri and Arabic are spoken on the island. Today, as the memory of the days when Socotra was ruled by local sultans fades with the passing of the island’s older generations, Socotra finds itself at a crossroads. Will the Socotris be able to preserve their environment, their culture and language while benefiting from development and tourism, or will Socotra suffer the fate of so many other once isolated regions of the world and lose its unique human and natural heritage as it is increasingly integrated into world economic flows? Socotra Island AttractionsIf you look at the size of Socotra, you can hardly imagine that this island has so much to offer! From the many historical monuments, and picturesque villages, to the amazing landscape, impressive volcanic caves, rugged cost lines, beautiful natural beaches, marine biodiversity, and last but not the least, the breathtaking views. There is so much to see that you will soon realize that one visit to Socotra just isn’t enough! Hoq Cave Hoq cave is a more than 3km long unique cave system which offers a stunning inside view of the secret world of the caves. After a walk of about one hour through some magnificent scenery, ascending 350m, you reach the mouth of the cave. A well trained team will guide you through the crystal wonders of nature during an easy, approximate 2 hours long underground visit. The temperature is constant during the year and varies between 25-27°C, while the humidity is higher than 95%.
Hoq cave offers an overwhelming beauty and variety of crystal decorations, like the huge hundreds of thousand year old speleothems (stalagmites, stalactites, calcite floors, etc…). To conserve the cave for future generations a pathway has been constructed that leads to a nice water basin. Capital Town Of HadiboHadibo is the dirtiest place of Socotra. It is hardly understandable why people settled down here. There are often rainy and sunless days. A rivulet flowing through the city is a perfect setting for the nurturing of mosquitoes that bother people at night. The city is overwhelmed by rubbish eaten up by ubiquitous goats, who also often steal food from tables in restaurants.A few 2-3* hotels of Hadobo are practically of the same level. The rooms have no hot water supply. Faling CapeThis beautiful place has recently became available for visitors by a new road. Here you can have a good fishing and see dolphins very often. This beautiful beach can be reached by a boat from Erissel.Ilha - an old Sultan's mosqueThe village is located 5 kilometers from Hadiboh. Here is the old Sultan's mosque. This place is notable for wonderful views away from the tourist routes.Sands of Noget South Coast Noget is the central part of the Socotra’s south coast. You can get here by the asphalt road leading through Dixam Plateau. Local guides usually take tourists to the Aomak camping. But we would recommend you to visit Stero place to see gorgeous sand barchans before going to the camping.
You can leave your car on the road and take a walk into the depth of sands. If you come here before a sunset, a soft evening lighting will make this place to look much more beautiful. There is also a more beautiful place with white sands on the other side of the camping. However, local guides do not usually show it to tourists as it is not convenient for them. Take care of your cameras! Unfortunately, many of them have been spoiled by Socotra’s sand Delisha BeachIt takes only half an hour to get to Delisha beach from Hadiboh. Tourists usually come here directly from the airport to have a swim and to walk along a big sand-dune.This place looks like going to be built up with hotels in the near future. Being absolutely pure not so long ago Delisha is now actively divided into parts and gradually starts turning into a construction site. We would recommend you to drive to the end of the road and walk through a confluent tributary. Here it is rather clean and quite possible to find a solitary piece of the sand beach. Homhil PlateauHomhil Plateau attracts tourists primarily by a combination of various kinds of trees growing at one place.To get here you have to overcome a steep serpentine road, which is one of the worst on the island. When reaching the plateau tourists usually leave their cars at a small settlement and engage a guide (it is obligatory) for taking a walk to a natural basin where they enjoy a glorious view of the Arabian Sea. A caved part of the cliff has formed a real aerodynamic tunnel. That is why it may be very cold on the plateau. Do not forget to take something warm to put on. There is no a camping site here. You can drink a cup of tea and drive back to Hadiboh. The second option is a two-hour walk down to a seacoast where a car will be waiting for you.Beach in Shuab Bay You can get to Shuab Bay by boat from Qalansiyah village. In an hour and a half you will appear in a marvelous place of Socotra far from civilization.
After sailing round a cape and by beautiful rocks we would recommend you to stay in a bay for snorkeling. There is a wonderful underwater world here. Then your boat continues its way and after a while you will find yourself on a breath-taking sand beach, one of the best on the island. Tourists are usually brought here for not more than two hours as their guides strive to come back to Qalansiyah within the first half of the day to avoid meeting waves usually raised by wind in the afternoon. Shuab bay is overrun with fish. It is quite easy to catch tuna, barracuda or redfish by a trammel net on your way to the sand beach. You can also hook herrings schooling near the shore of Shuab bay. Setting off on a journey to Shuab, do not forget to take a sunburn cream, a kerchief or a cap to protect yourself against the sun. Also, to avoid catching a cold take something warm to put on in case you meet wind and spoondrift on your way back. Detwah Lagoon - the main beach of SocotraDetwah Lagoon is definitely one of the most impressive places on the island coast. There is a camping site with toilet and shower rooms, where you can stay overnight. Fresh water is also available for your use. Please, remember that camping owners do not offer cooking services. So, you have to cook by yourself or rely on your guides.Qalansiyah is the best start point for seeing the lagoon. After driving through the village, your car goes up a low hill where you will be able enjoy an incredible overall view of the lagoon. Afterwards we would recommend you to go down to walk along the lagoon shore. A slow strolling at the seaside takes about 3 hours. Please, do not forget to protect yourself against the sun and to take drinking water. When walking on seawater look under your feet – there are many small cramp-fishes in the lagoon, which won’t do you any harm but they are rather unpleasant in touching them especially by bear feet. After walking, you can come back to the camping where a car will be waiting for you. Wadi Dirhur CanyonPassing by Dixam Plateau you can go down a steep earth-road to Wadi Dirhur Canyon. If you get tired of rough riding we would recommend you to leave your car and go by foot to the canyon floor, where you can have a swim in a small fresh water pool.Local Socotran guides do not like having overnight stops in canyons. As local legends have it, the local canyons are inhabited by genies and it is quite possible to meet a ghost woman here after sundown. People say that this explains the fact that a small settlement near the water pool is devoid of inhabitants. However, it looks like Europeans do not meet any ghosts on Socotra. That is why, when reaching the canyon floor and turning to the left from the road you will find a number of convenient camping sites for overnight stops. Here you can put up a tent, make a fire and cook a fish brought with you or a goatling bought from local people. Dragon Tree in Dixam Plateau Dixam Plateau is located in the central part of Socotra. You will be lead here by a good asphalt road which you can follow to get to Noget – the south coast of the Island. When leaving the main road, you will drive by a small village where you can buy Dragon’s blood. It is the name used for a red resin obtained from Dragoon Trees. It is a good immunostimulant and wound-healthing remedy. In Ancient Rome gladiators smeared their bodies with the resin extracted from Dragoon Trees. It hastened healing of their wounds by reducing blood loss. It is considered that Dragon’s blood has greater healing properties than well-known Mumiyo. Except the resin you can also buy here dried juice of the Socotran Aloe, frankincense and clay smoking jars.
After passing by the village we would recommend you to turn to the left to get to the verge of Socotra’s most beautiful canyon - Wadi Dirhur. General Notes/Tips from Jorge Sanchez You can hitch hike from the airport to Hadibo: the first car will give you a ride. In Hadibo there are several hotels, you can bargain for the price. The first one is where all tourists meet, Germans, Italians, and the rest. They organize trips, excursions, rent Land Rovers, etc. I went further downtown and found a nice hotel, cheap, with shower. But several nights I slept à la belle etoile, on the beach. People brought us mattresses to sleep on the sand. Fish is good and cheap, as well as goats. Transport is easy: just stop any pick-up and negotiate a price for the highlights of the island, especially the dragon’s blood trees and the oasis in the middle of the island, it’s all very cheap. Learn some Arabic, it’s very useful in negotiating prices. The only inconvenience is that beers are forbidden, and all alcohol, so it’s water or Coca Cola. Still, you will not regret visiting Socotra! VIDEO YEMEN Socotra CoastVIDEO YEMEN Socotra MountainsPICTURES and WALLPAPERS Socotra Island
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Exotic place Socotra or Soqotra is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. The largest island, also called Socotra, is about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies off some 189 and 217 nautical miles off the coast of Yemen (depending on your source of information), and some 130 off the coast of Somalia. The island is very isolated and through the process of speciation, a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. It has been described as the most alien-looking place on Earth.
