Socotra d and Socotra Archipelago

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Socotra d

   Hadibu is the main town of Socotra, a dusty, low-rise place on the north coast of the island, between the sea and the jagged granite peaks of the Hagghier mountains, which rise to around fifteen hundred metres just behind it. These mountains catch the clouds, and their slopes are greener and wetter than the coastal plains, with streams, pools and a remarkable range of endemic plants. The island's population is small, and Hadibu, with its market, mosques and goats wandering the streets, is the only real town.

   Read the complete Socotra d write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Socotra d is where the day begins. Next is Socotra c.

2. 2. Socotra c

   The dragon's blood tree looks like an umbrella turned inside out, with a dense crown of branches spreading from a thick trunk, and it grows almost nowhere else on earth but the island of Socotra, in the Arabian Sea between Yemen and Somalia. Its red resin was traded in antiquity as a dye and medicine. Socotra has been isolated for millions of years, and about a third of its plant species are found nowhere else, including bottle trees with swollen trunks, desert roses and frankincense trees. UNESCO lists the archipelago for its extraordinary biodiversity.

   Read the complete Socotra c write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Socotra c comes up about 18 km into the recorded legs. Next is Socotra Archipelago.

3. 3. 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

   about 41 km into the recorded legs you reach Socotra Archipelago. Next is back through Socotra c.

4. 4. back through Socotra c

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Socotra c write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Socotra c, late in the day. Next is Socotra d.

5. 5. Socotra d

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Socotra d write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Socotra d. That is the ride.