Let us be honest from the first line: you will not ride your own motorcycle here, and you should think carefully before going at all. Socotra is an island in the Arabian Sea, part of Yemen, about three hundred and fifty kilometres off the coast of the Arabian Peninsula and closer to the Horn of Africa. Isolated for millions of years, it developed a flora and fauna found nowhere else on earth, and roughly a third of its plants are endemic. The most famous is the dragon's blood tree, shaped like an inverted umbrella, whose red resin has been traded since ancient times as a dye and medicine. The archipelago was listed by UNESCO in 2008 for its extraordinary biodiversity.
The landscapes are otherworldly: limestone plateaus covered with dragon's blood trees, bottle trees with swollen trunks and pink flowers, white sand dunes running down to turquoise water, granite mountains, caves and lagoons. Hadibu, about twenty-six kilometres from this point, is the main town, a modest place where most visitors stay before heading out with a local guide and driver.
The island's people speak Soqotri, an ancient language related to the languages of southern Arabia, and they have a rich tradition of poetry. Their way of life, based on herding, fishing and date cultivation, is adapted to the harsh climate, with strong monsoon winds from June to September that make the sea rough and limit access. The best time to visit is from October to April.
Yemen has been at war for years, and while Socotra has been relatively calm, the political situation is complex and governments generally advise against travel to Yemen. Access is limited to occasional flights, and visiting usually requires organising a tour through an approved operator, who will arrange permits, transport and accommodation. Vehicles are rented with drivers, and the roads, some paved, many rough tracks, are best left to local experts. Fuel is available in Hadibu, but supplies can be unreliable. If you do go, respect local customs, dress modestly and leave nothing behind but footprints, as the island's ecosystem is fragile and unique.