One Week Trekking Socotra Expedition

one week Socotra trekking expedition

One Week Socotra Trekking Expedition

This one-week Socotra Island trekking expedition will take you to explore the island’s central highlands slowly and more intimately. It will be a challenging yet rewarding week camping under the stars and walking some decently long distances on some days.

Trekking with the help of camels to help haul gear this is one of the more grueling Socotra itineraries on offer.

Scroll down to the end of this page to see all the trip details, including prices and more.

One Week Socotra Trekking Expedition Itinerary

One Week Socotra Trekking Expedition Day 1

Hadiboh | Arher | Delisha Beach

Be met by your local Socotri guide on arrival at Socotra International Airport. Collect your bags and go through formalities and head into the main town of Hadiboh. Here you will have an early lunch before making the drive to the perfect white dunes of Arher.

Take the afternoon to swim in the beautiful Arabian Sea and relax on the beach. At sunset, it’s recommended to climb to the top of the massive Arher Dune for the best views. Following sunset, load up and head back down the coast to camp at Delisha Beach, very close to the start of your Haggier Mountains trek.

Hadiboh Doors, Socotra Island, Yemen
Arher Dune, Socotra, Yemen
Delisha Beach, Socotra, Yemen

Accommodation: Tent camping at Delisha Beach
Meals: Lunch, dinner

One Week Socotra Trekking Expedition Day 2

Delisha Beach | Adourna | Adho Demelah

Get an early start before sunrise to beat the heat on the first day of your Socotra Island Haggier Mountains trek. The trek begins along a broken dirt road from a village on the southern outskirts of Hadiboh called Adourna that eventually peters out as you reach the base of the Haggiers.

The path loosely follows a mountain spring that tumbles down from the Haggiers which is much more bountiful in the rainy season with lovely pools that make for popular picnic spots for locals. As you climb boulders ascending your way into the mountains pay attention for the island’s star endemics. The uber-rare Dirachma socotrana can even be spotted along this route.

Eventually, you will reach the shepherd settlement of Adho Demelah, the perfect spot to camp among the jagged peaks of the Haggiers.

Haggier trek, Socotra, Yemen
Haggier trek, Frankincense ameero, Socotra, Yemen
Adourna, Haggier trek, Socotra, Yemen-2

Distance: 10 kilometers | 8 hours
Accommodation: Tent camping at Fareyay
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

One Week Socotra Trekking Expedition Day 3

Adho Demelah | Fareyay

From Adho Demelah, follow a pathway to the west that will take you up to a great viewpoint in an area known locally as Fareyay. Here you can relax and watch Egyptian vultures swarm overhead as clouds drift in and out among the Haggier’s craggy and characterful peaks in a scene reminiscent of Machu Picchu. This is a great spot for peering over the cliff edges in search of the endemic Begonia socotrana.

In the afternoon, make your way back down to Adho Demelah where you’ll be camping for one more night.

Fareyay, Haggier trek, Socotra, Yemen
Egyptian vulture, Fareyay, Haggier trek, Socotra, Yemen
Fareyay, Haggier trek, Socotra, Yemen

Distance: 4.5 kilometers | 6 hours
Accommodation: Tent camping at Adho Demelah
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

One Week Socotra Trekking Expedition Day 4

Adho Demelah | Daahzaz | Firhmin Forest

Getting an early start, we will leave Adho Demelah at around sunrise, beginning our descent into a wide valley. At the bottom of the canyon, you will have a chance to see a Socora pomegranate tree before the path will head back uphill among Frankincense ameero and bottle trees. Finally, the trail does descend again, taking us to the villages of Sha’ab and Daahzaz where we will find a nice pool in between the two to take a swim in and have a picnic lunch nearby.

After a rest, we will begin our final push up into the Firhmin Forest, known for its over 9,000 dragon blood trees. Tonight we will camp among a grove of trees in the forest.

Fareyay, Haggier trek, Socotra, Yemen
Haggier trek, Socotra, Yemen
Firhmin Forest, Haggier trek, Socotra, Yemen

DIstance: 11.5 kilometers | 11 hours
Accommodation: Tent camping in Firhmin Forest
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

One Week Socotra Trekking Expedition Day 5

Firhmin Forest | Dixsam Plateau | Skånd Peak Viewpoint | Dixsam Plateau

As the 4WDs can reach us here in the Firhmin Forest, we will be picked up in the morning to drive to the start of the final section of the trek on the other side of the Dixsam Plateau. This trek will bring you down into a valley and gradually back up the other side to reach an epic viewpoint gnarled in between Socotra’s highest peaks.

The descent is back down the way from which you came. Tonight camp again under the stars on the Dixsam Plateau.

Dragon Blood Trees Firhmin Forest Socotra Yemen
Skånd Peak, Haggier Mountain Trek, Socotra Island, Yemen
Dragon Blood Tree, Dixsam Plateau, Socotra Island, Yemen

Distance: 12 kilometers | 6 hours
Accommodation: Tent camping at Dixsam Plateau
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

One Week Socotra Trekking Expedition Day 6

Dixsam Plateau | Detwah Lagoon

After breakfast, we will depart the Dixsam Plateau and back down to the coast, this time to explore the white sands and lively waters of Detwah Lagoon.

In Detwah spend the afternoon relaxing in the most turquoise waters, get in on a game of football with some local teens, or maybe catch the well-known Abdullah the Caveman who may take you out to explore around the lagoon.

Wadi Dirhur, Dixsam Plateau, Socotra Island, Yemen
Detwah Lagoon, Socotra Island, Yemen
Detwah Lagoon, Socotra Island, Yemen

Accommodation: Tent camping on Detwah Beach
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

One Week Socotra Trekking Expedition Day 7

Detwah Lagoon | Qalansiya | Shua’ab Beach

After an early breakfast, make the short drive to the second-largest town on Socotra of Qalansiya. From the beach in Qalansiya we will load up into local dhow fishing boats and cruise along Socotra’s rugged western coast down to the impossibly white sands of Shua’ab Beach. Keep your eyes peeled as you leave Qalansiya for jumping spinner dolphins who frequent the area.

After a perfect final beach day in Socotra, head back for Qalansiya in the early afternoon (the waters around here get notoriously rough later in the day) and then enjoy your final sunset and dinner back at Detwah Lagoon.

Detwah Lagoon, Socotra Island, Yemen
Spinner dolphins, Qalansiya, Socotra Island, Yemen
Shua'ab Beach, Socotra Island, Yemen

Accommodation: Tent camping on Detwah Beach
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Departure Day

Detwah Lagoon | Hadiboh Airport

Following breakfast, you will be dropped off at the Hadiboh Airport to catch your flight to either Abu Dhabi or Aden/Cairo to continue your journey home (or elsewhere).

Accommodation: None
Meals: Breakfast

One Week Socotra Trekking Expedition Trip Details

Cost: $1,950 per person (minimum of two pax/solo travelers can still book a private trip but costs will be double)

Dates: Year-round, but best between October and March

Duration: 8 days | 7 nights

Start/finish: Hadiboh Airport

Deposit: 30% due at time of sign up

Inclusions: Meals as noted on itinerary, camping equipment, Yemeni visa fee ($170), pack animals (at a cost of $40 per day), 4WD transport, English speaking local guide, entry fees

Exclusions: Airfare to/from Socotra ($950 return from Abu Dhabi, and $1,160 return from Cairo), UAE or Egypt visa fees (if applicable), travel insurance, personal spending, tips for local staff

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