Socotra looks as if evolution has been running its own experiment. The island, a long way east of the Horn of Africa and well south of Arabia, has been separated from the mainland for millions of years, and as a result a large share of its plants, perhaps a third, and many of its reptiles and snails, are found nowhere else. The Socotra Archipelago was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2008, and the images that come to mind are of the dragon's blood tree, with its umbrella-shaped crown of stiff branches, and the swollen bottle trees clinging to the rock.
The dragon's blood tree, Dracaena cinnabari, takes its name from its red resin, which has been used for dyes, medicine and varnish since antiquity, and which was traded to Rome and beyond. The trees grow in the highlands, on limestone plateaus like Diksam, where mist from the monsoon is caught by the crowns and drips to the roots, and the oldest are said to be centuries old. Socotra also has white sand dunes, turquoise lagoons, and the granite peaks of the Haggeher mountains, which rise to about 1,500 metres. The people speak Socotri, an ancient language with no written form, and herd goats and camels.
A paved road runs along the north coast, linking Hadibu to the west with Qalansiyah, and other tracks cross the plateau, mostly rough. The monsoon from June to September brings fierce winds and rough seas that cut off the island by sea, and the best time is from October to April, when the weather is calm and warm.
I should be frank about the wider situation. Yemen has been in conflict for years, and although Socotra has been less affected than the mainland, access is limited and depends on a small number of flights, and travel advice from many governments is cautious. Anyone considering a trip should look at current official advice and arrange logistics through an established local operator, since independent motorcycle travel is not realistic here.