The Lost Island Of Socotra

June 22, 2009 at 4:27 PM | by Omri | 0 Comments

The bad part about vacationing on Socotra, a four-island archipelago off the coast of the Horn of Africa: pirates. The good part about vacationing on Socotra: now that it has an airport, the island's freaky deaky biodiversity is accessible to tourists year-round.

And freaky deaky that biodiversity is. The last time the island was attached to any mainland we didn't even have real continents. It separated from the super-continent of Gondwana tens of millions of years ago and has been ecologically isolated ever since, though it's been continuously inhabited since ancient times.

Today there are over 700 endangered plants and animals on the island, a full 1/3 of them found nowhere else in the world. The island is a UNESCO recognized world heritage site. You can check out their Conservation Programme for more background.

Although the airport allows you to access the island throughout the year, tourists are still advised to avoid the monsoon season that goes from May to September. The cloudy choppy waters of those months will prevent you from enjoying the island's fabulous snorkeling and diving, plus there's the whole risk of death thing. You're better off traveling in March or April, when the waters are tranquil and the weather is perfect.

Socotra is part of the Republic of Yemen so American tourists will need visas. There are two flights a week, both operated by Yemen Airways. The native language is Soqotri so hiring an English-speaking guide is pretty much mandatory. That's one of the many, many services you're going to have to haggle over during your stay so be wary. Don't let them the guide talk you into anything more than about $350/wk.

[Photo: Wiki Commons]

Related Stories:
· Socotra Conservation and Development Programme, Republic of Yemen
· Ecotourism Coverage [Jaunted]
· Yemen Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

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Tags: Ecotourism / Socotra Travel / Island Travel / UNESCO / → All Tags