8-Day Socotra Ecotourism Trek with Dragon's Blood Forest and Shu'ab

• Meet your tour guide at the airport and transfer to an ecolodge near the island's capital, Hadibo, where you can refresh yourself.
• Take a trip to Ayhaft Canyon National Park. In the canyon (wadi), you will enjoy large fresh pools where you can swim or soak. There are tamarind trees, cucumber trees, and a wide variety of birds such as the Socotra sparrow, Socotra sunbird, and both Socotra and Somali starlings. Ayhaft is a natural nursery due to its abundant endemic trees, plants, and birds.
• Visit Delisha Beach in the afternoon, with its pristine white sands full of crabs. You can relax while swimming in the sea and/or in a freshwater lagoon. You can climb a huge sand dune overlooking the beach and try to surf it down. If you want to stay longer, there may be a fabulous sunset to watch from Delisha.

Dinner and overnight at Adeeb ecolodge.

• Have an early breakfast, then drive to Wadi Daneghan, the starting point of the trek. After loading your belongings onto a camel, hike for 3 to 4 hours.
• Cross wadis and walk among endemic plants such as croton socotramo and Adinum, passing by a granite wadi on the way to Kishan. Lunch in Kishan.
• Continue on to Adoho Dema'alah at about 600 meters.

Dinner and overnight in Adoho Dema'alah.

• Trek in the morning to the highest peak, Fa'arah, at 1525 meters for a beautiful view of Hadiboh. The area is full of vegetation, although the high peak itself is naked granite.
• Continue trekking to Wadi Da'aharoh.

Dinner and camp in Da'aharoh.

• Visit the Firmhin Forest, the last dragon's blood woodland. Nowhere else can one find dragon's blood trees in such density. Local people will show you how they used to collect - and still collect on a smaller scale - the precious red resin of the tree.
• Continue hiking to Derhur Canyon (wadi), where you will see unusual yet beautiful rock formations. You can swim in the pool.

Dinner and overnight at Wadi Derhur.

• Drive to the nearby Dihamri Marine Protected Area, which boasts one of the richest coral reefs on the archipelago.
• Relax on the beach in palm-leaf huts and swim and snorkel in Dihamri Bay. Snorkelling gear can be hired there. Marine species you may see underwater include parrotfish, moray eel, rays, and sea urchins, and if you are lucky, you may also meet turtles. Divers can use the services of the Dihamri Diving Center and go for a dive in Dihamri or another of Socotra's superb diving spots.
• Head to Arher in the afternoon, where a fresh creek coming out from granite meets seawater on the beach. You can relax on the green grass around the creek, swim in the sea, or, if you feel fit, climb a huge dune for a fantastic view over this charming spot. Arher is one of the best spots for paragliding, so you can paraglide if you have your own paragliding equipment.

Dinner and overnight at Arher.

• Make an early start and drive to the base of Hoq Cave in Terbaik village. Before the sunshine gets too hot, walk up to the entrance of the cave. It is more than 3 km long, with a water pool at the end, and holds a wealth of Socotri history.
• See stalactites, stalagmites, crystalline formations, ancient writings on the cave walls, and what appears to be a picture of an old trading ship, all preserved over the ages by a calcite glaze.
• Visit Homhil in the afternoon, a protected area with fabulous scenery that gives you a prehistoric feeling.
• Stop at Qaria Lagoon en route. It is the largest lagoon on the island, and you will hopefully see flamingos, herons, and greenshanks. Once at Homhil, choose from a selection of walking trails. You will be astonished by the prehistoric atmosphere of the landscape, rich with dragon's blood trees and bottle trees. Local children may approach you to sell dragon blood resin and frankincense. One of the trails leads to a viewpoint with a natural pool of almost freezing green and blue water.

Dinner and overnight at a camp in Homhil.

• Drive to the west of the island to the little fisherman's town of Qalansiya. It consists of traditional Socotri houses, narrow alleyways, and a beach full of fishing boats ready to set off for the day's catch or to take you to Shu'ab Beach.
• Take a boat trip to Shu'ab. You will likely meet some spinner dolphins along the way, with cormorants flying overhead. Once at Shu'ab, visit a mangrove area. Lunch will be served on the long, clean Shu'ab Beach. In the afternoon, you can swim in this pristine place.
• Take a boat ride back to Qalansiya in the late afternoon. Line fishing is possible from the boat if you want to catch your dinner.
• Continue to Detwah Lagoon, a marine protected area renowned for its magical landscape. You will be charmed by a white sandy tongue surrounded by the turquoise waters of the bay. You can swim there and enjoy paradise. There is also an array of seabirds to be seen in the lagoon.

Dinner and overnight at Detwah.

• Have an early breakfast, then drive to Socotra Airport to board your flight.