Socotra is the largest member of an archipelago and a four-island ellipsis that trails off the Horn of Africa into the Gulf of Aden. A mix of ancient granite massifs, limestone cliffs and red sandstone plateaus. The island is situated 250 miles off the coast of Yemen.

Before 250 million years or more, when all the planet’s major landmasses were joined and most major life-forms were just a gleam, Socotra already stood as an island apart. The island had been gathering birds, seeds and insects off the winds and cultivating one of the world’s most unusual collections of organisms. As well as the island is home to myrrh trees and several rare birds. Its marine life is a unique hybrid of species from the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific.

During the years the island has begun to attract tourists. A modest airport went up in 1999. (Before then, the island could be reached only by cargo ship; from May to September, when monsoon winds whip up the sea, it could be cut off entirely.) That year, 140 travelers visited.

If you want to visit this an extraordinary island there’re a few hotels Some have rooms with private bathrooms and flush toilets (about $10 a night). As well as camping is an ideal way to sleep, since the island’s main ecological sites are one or more hours’ drive away from Hadibu; you can arrange to rent gear on the island.