Why this ride
The stops in between: Darsa, Socotra h, Socotra Archipelago and Socotra b. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Samha and Socotra b
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 316 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 27
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Socotra h → Socotra Archipelago
The ride follows Socotra h → Socotra Archipelago for 49 km.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 49 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Samha
Samha is a small, barren island in the Indian Ocean, one of the two islands known as the Brothers that lie between the main island of Socotra and the Horn of Africa. Together with Socotra and the other islands of the archipelago, it belongs to Yemen and is part of the Socotra Archipelago World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2008 for its extraordinary biodiversity. A few hundred people live on Samha, mostly fishermen, in a village by the shore, and the island has its own endemic plants, adapted to the harsh, dry climate.
Read the complete Samha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Samha is where the day begins. Next is Darsa.
2. Darsa
Darsa is a speck of rock in the Indian Ocean, one of the small islands of the Socotra archipelago, which lies about two hundred and forty kilometres off the Horn of Africa and belongs politically to Yemen. It is the sort of place that makes sense only on a map: a low, dry island west of the main island of Socotra, with few or no permanent inhabitants, visited by fishermen and by seabirds. Together with its neighbour Samha and the big island, it forms one of the most remarkable natural treasures in the world, which UNESCO listed in 2008.
Read the complete Darsa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Darsa comes up about 34 km into the recorded legs. Next is Socotra h.
3. Socotra h
Socotra looks like the set of a science fiction film. On this island in the Arabian Sea, about three hundred and fifty kilometres off the coast of Yemen, the dragon's blood tree spreads its branches like an umbrella turned inside out, desert roses swell from the rocks with fat, bottle-shaped trunks, and frankincense trees cling to the cliffs. Around a third of the plant species here exist nowhere else on Earth, the result of millions of years of isolation, and the archipelago became a World Heritage site in 2008.
Read the complete Socotra h write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 85 km into the recorded legs you reach Socotra h. Next is Socotra Archipelago.
4. Socotra Archipelago
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.
Read the complete Socotra Archipelago write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Socotra Archipelago, about halfway. Next is Socotra b.
5. Socotra b
Halfway along Socotra's north coast, between Hadibu and the fishing town of Qalansiya, the island shows its gentler face. The coastal plain is narrow here, a strip of pale sand and scrub squeezed between the sea and limestone plateaus that climb steeply inland, and the road runs along it for most of the way west. Both towns lie roughly thirty kilometres away in opposite directions, which makes the place a natural midpoint on the island's main east–west journey.
Read the complete Socotra b write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Socotra b sits at 158 km, about halfway. Next is back through Socotra Archipelago.
6. back through Socotra Archipelago
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Socotra Archipelago write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Socotra Archipelago comes up about 182 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Socotra h.
7. back through Socotra h
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Socotra h write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 231 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Socotra h. Next is back through Darsa.
8. back through Darsa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Darsa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Darsa, late in the day. Next is Samha.
9. Samha
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Samha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 316 km.
Leg by leg
Samha to Darsa
Samha → Darsa is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Darsa to Socotra h
Darsa → Socotra h is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Socotra h to Socotra Archipelago
Socotra h → Socotra Archipelago is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Socotra Archipelago to Socotra b
Socotra Archipelago → Socotra b is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Socotra b to back through Socotra Archipelago
Socotra b → back through Socotra Archipelago is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Socotra Archipelago to back through Socotra h
back through Socotra Archipelago → back through Socotra h is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Socotra h to back through Darsa
back through Socotra h → back through Darsa is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Darsa to Samha
back through Darsa → Samha is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Samha and Socotra g · 339 km
- Samha and Socotra d · 354 km
- Samha and Socotra Archipelago · 268 km