Southern Socotra Highlights

Dagub Cave

With a massive and ominous cave entrance offering a spectacular coastal view, Dagub Cave is a must, especially for those who can’t physically make the hike to Hoq Cave.

Dagub is located on the south coast of Socotra, not far from the Zahek and Hayf Dune FIelds and Omaq Beach. It’s an easy-to-visit location as a rough jeep track extends most of the way to the cave, only requiring a short walk.

A small cave tunnels off inside into a smaller cavern where sometimes you can find some bats roosting. 

Momi Plateau

Located just to the south and east of Homhil, Momi Plateau will have you feeling like you’ve effectively left Earth and arrived on Mars with its red landscapes, pyramidal mountains, limestone outcrops, and funky low-lying and alien-like succulent plantlife. 

Momi Plateau is known for its array of bottle trees, some of the best displays and largest on the island can be found strewn about the Momi Plateau.

This area is home to many Bedouin villages that you’ll find scattered all about this beguiling plateau. 

Omaq Beach

Fringed by date palms and sugary white dunes, Omaq Beach is one of Socotra’s favorite campsites and even features toilets and showers. 

Qairah & Berbera Falls

Qairah is a rarely visited village on Socotra’s south coast at the end of the road that meets with the main north-south road at the village of Steroh. The main attraction here in the Qairah area is to visit the tall and cascading Berbera Falls.

In the wetter months of the year, you can usually find Berbera abundant with waters and its pools below overflowing.

Qalisan

A perfect mid-trip break on Socotra is the limestone-fringed freshwater oasis of Qalisan. 

Accessed by car from the Momi Plateau and then requiring a 1.5 kilometer trek downhill the pools of Qalisan make for excellent swimming. 

For those looking for an adventure, you can swim all the way upstream to a small waterfall that you can climb up and over. A little bit of bouldering will bring you higher up where you’ll have spectacular views of the Qalisan pools from above, as well as access to a nice cave and another smaller upper pool. 

Zahek & Hayf Dunes

Just east of Omaq Beach lies the extensive Zahek Dune Field with white sands that seem to extend on forever, that is until they dump off into the Indian Ocean.

The Zahek Dunes have quite a different feel to them than the Dunes of Arher known for their impressive height, Zahek is wider.

Just to the west of Zahek are the smaller yet still impressive Hayf Sand Dunes, which also feature the same beautiful white sands.

Both Zahek and Hayf are best viewed at sunset as pink and gold shadows cast into the crevices of the dunes.