Socotra Ecological Trip - SCT200209 www.inertianetwork.com - Inertia Network (web itinerary)
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1202-738 Broughton Street SCT200209
Vancouver BC V6G 3A7 Canada travel@inertianetwork.com
+1 604.700.4694 www.inertianetwork.com
!
Socotra Ecological Trip
February 9-20, 2020
Prepared for: Hilary Bradt
Prepared by: Inertia Network - ECOLOGICAL
1202-738 Broughton Street SCT200209
Vancouver BC V6G 3A7 Canada travel@inertianetwork.com
+1 604.700.4694 www.inertianetwork.com
!
MAIN PROGRAM ITINERARY
Day 1 :: Tuesday, February 11th, 2020 :: Cairo / Socotra
We will meet at Cairo International Airport Terminal 1 at 11pm to check-in to our flight to Socotra. For those
participating in the pre-trip program to Egypt, transportation and assistance will be provided. For those arriving
directly at the airport, please proceed to the Yemenia Airlines check-in counter with your visa print our and e-ticket
number to check-in to the flight.
Overnight: on the plane.
Day 2 :: Wednesday, February 12th, 2020 :: Seiyun / Hadibo
We’ll depart Cairo on Yemenia’s only weekly flight into Socotra, leaving at 2:00am from Cairo and arriving in
Socotra around 10:30am, with a two-hour stop in the mainland Yemeni town of Seiyun. We will be met upon
arrival at Socotra Airport by our local team and we’ll take a quick rest and shower at the Summerlands Hotel in
Hadibo town before starting our day. Our first spot is Ayhaft Canyon National Park. In the canyon, you’ll enjoy large
freshwater pools where you can swim. All around you there will be tamarind trees, bottle 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 large abundance of endemic trees, plants and birds.
Overnight: Summerlands Hotel, Hadibo.
Day 3 :: Thursday, February 13th, 2020 :: Hadibo / Homhil
Today’s destination is Homhil, a prehistoric feeling national protected area with incredible scenery. We will stop at
Qaria lagoon en-route; it is the largest lagoon on the island and we will hopefully see flamingos, herons and
greenshanks here. The trek to Homhil starts at the bottom of a spectacular ravine at sea level. The trek is of
medium difficulty and won’t take more than 1.5 hours. You will have enough strength to enjoy the view back
towards the sea where we have started ascending. Once at Homhil, we can choose from a selection of walking
trails. You will be astonished by the prehistoric atmosphere of the landscape rich with Dragon Blood Trees and
Bottle Trees. You will likely encounter local children who sell dragon blood resin and frankincense. One of the trails
leads to a viewpoint with a natural pool with almost freezing green and blue water.
Overnight: Camping at Homhil.
1202-738 Broughton Street SCT200209
Vancouver BC V6G 3A7 Canada travel@inertianetwork.com
+1 604.700.4694 www.inertianetwork.com
!
Day 4 :: Friday, February 14th, 2020 :: Homhil / Momi / Rosh / Arher
We will start the day early with breakfast just after sunrise, to enjoy a walk around Homhil Valley once more before
departing. We will spend the day first exploring the Momi Plateau before driving to the Rosh Marine Protected Area
for lunch, followed by an afternoon snorkelling trip. In the late afternoon we’ll drive a short ways to Arher, easily one
of Socotra’s nicest beaches in the far northeast of the island. Arher is located at the location where a fresh water
creek comes out from a granite cliff face along the beach. You can relax on green grass around the creek, swim in
the sea, or if you feel fit you can climb a huge sand dune to get a fantastic view over this charming spot-- amazing
for sunset. If we’re lucky, we can spot bright blue bioluminescence in the evening along the beach.
Overnight: Camping at Arher Beach.
Day 5 :: Saturday, February 15th, 2020 :: Arher / Hoq Cave / Hadibo
We will start a little later in the morning today, so that we can enjoy this beautiful white sand beach a little longer.
After breakfast, we’ll drive to the base of Hoq Cave in Terbak village. Before the sun gets too strong, we will walk
up to the entrance of the cave (1.5 hrs, steep hike). It is more than three kilometres long, with a water pool at the
end. The cave holds a wealth of Socotri history; inside, you will see stalactites, stalagmites and crystalline
formations. Ancient writings on the cave walls and also what appears to be a picture of an old trading ship have
been preserved over the ages by a calcite glaze. The cave is a true highlight of visiting Socotra. In the afternoon,
we’ll visit the Hadibo bazaar and fish market before settling in for the night in the town.
Overnight: Summerlands Hotel, Hadibo.
1202-738 Broughton Street SCT200209
Vancouver BC V6G 3A7 Canada travel@inertianetwork.com
+1 604.700.4694 www.inertianetwork.com
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Day 6 :: Sunday, February 16th, 2020 :: Hadibo / Shu’ab / Detwah
We will start today early in the morning, having a quick breakfast at the hotel before setting out for the port town of
Qalansiah on the northwest coast of Socotra. From Qalansia, we will take fishing boats on a trip to the Shu’ab
region of far western Socotra. Here you can see some of the best marine life on the island and we will take the
boat to a few snorkelling locations only accessible by sea. There’s also a very good chance of seeing lots of
spinner dolphins, as they normally congregate in the waters here. We’ll relax at Shu’ab beach and have tea here
until the early afternoon, when we’ll take the boat back to Qalansiah for lunch. In the later afternoon, we’ll go on a
fishing trip with Abdullah the Caveman in the Detwah Lagoon.
Overnight: Camping at the Detwah Lagoon.
Day 7 :: Monday, February 17th, 2020 :: Detwah / Dagub Cave / Zaheq / Diksam
After breakfast at the campsite, we’ll head to the incredible Detwah Beach, located on the other side of the
lagoon. From the viewpoint, we’ll walk ten minutes down to the white sands to go for a swim. After enjoying the
beach, we’ll drive to the far southeast of the island (across the entire island), where we’ll have lunch at Dagub
Cave, which overlooks a scattering of traditional villages below. The cave has many stalactites, stalagmites and
pools of water. In the afternoon, as the sun begins to lose its strength, we’ll visit the colossal sand dunes of Hayf
and Zahek, pushed up against the mountainside by the seasonal winds of Socotra. We’ll drive to the Diksam
Plateat in the late afternoon to set up camp and have dinner.
Overnight: Camping at the Diksam Homestay.
1202-738 Broughton Street SCT200209
Vancouver BC V6G 3A7 Canada travel@inertianetwork.com
+1 604.700.4694 www.inertianetwork.com
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Day 8 :: Tuesday, February 18th, 2020 :: Diksam / Firhmin / Hadibo
After an early breakfast at the homestay, we will drive to the Diksam Plateau and gorge, which is definitely the
most spectacular limestone landscape feature on the island. The gorge drops 700 metres vertically to the valley
floor. We will walk along the edge of the gorge to see attractive stands of Dragon's Blood Trees and the extensive
limestone pavement. Sections of the plateau have partially slipped into the gorge, leaving 'lost worlds' accessible
only to buzzards and vultures.
The plateau is home to nomadic Bedouin herdsmen who move from one site to another with their goat herds. We
will be welcomed by them with a cup of tea on our hike, where we can observe the many houses built into ledges
where the plateau meets the gorge. The forest in at Firhimin, across the canyon from Diksam, is the last Dragon's
Blood woodland. Nowhere else in the world can one find Dragon's Blood Trees in such densities as growing here.
Local people will show us how they used to collect - and still collect on a smaller scale -the precious red resin of
the trees.
Expect about 5-7 hours of hiking today and taking a light packed lunch with you during the hike.
Once we arrive back on the Diksam side of the canyon, we’ll drive back to Hadibo for a shower and our last dinner
all together in Socotra.
Overnight: Summerlands Hotel, Hadibo.
Day 9 :: Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 :: Hadibo / Seiyun / Cairo
After breakfast we’ll drive to Socotra Airport for our flight back to Cairo via Seiyun. The flight is scheduled to depart
Socotra at 11:15am, arriving back in Cairo at 5:00pm. Delays of a couple hours are common. For those
participating in our pre and post trip program in Egypt, we will have drive to our hotel in downtown Cairo for the
1202-738 Broughton Street SCT200209
Vancouver BC V6G 3A7 Canada travel@inertianetwork.com
+1 604.700.4694 www.inertianetwork.com
!
evening followed by a big group dinner. For those not participating in the post trip program you are free to depart
as you chose once we arrive back in Cairo, keeping in mind the flight back from Socotra may be delayed several
hours behind its scheduled arrival time.
CAIRO PRE & POST TRIP PROGRAM ITINERARY
Day 1 :: Sunday, February 9th, 2020 :: Arrival in Cairo
Arrivals throughout the day and evening. For those arriving today, we will provide airport transportation for you
from Cairo International Airport to the hotel. No scheduled activities today.
Overnight: Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir.
Day 2 :: Monday, February 10th, 2020 :: Cairo / Saqqara
Breakfast at the hotel.
Today we are teaming up with Dr. Ibrahim Morgan, an incredible Egyptologist and Inertia’s Egypt director, to tour
the newly discovered tombs at Saqqara-- the most impressive in lower Egypt. Just within the past year several
incredible 4,000 year old tombs were discovered buried in the rocks here with full paintings and carvings in them.
We will be led through the complexes by Ibrahim, where he will show us the meanings behind the hieroglyphics.
We will then visit the Step Pyramid of King Djoser and have lunch at a rural barbeque near Saqqara.
In the afternoon we will visit Al Zabaleen-- otherwise known as the Garbage City. This part of Cairo is home to tens
of thousands of the city’s Coptic Christian community and many of the families are involved in recycling. We will
walk through the city as well as explore a Coptic monastery at the top, meet with locals and walk to a viewpoint
over the rooftops of this unique neighbourhood.
We’ll have dinner together in downtown Cairo before returning to the hotel.
Overnight: Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir.
Day 3 :: Tuesday, February 11th, 2020 :: Cairo
1202-738 Broughton Street SCT200209
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+1 604.700.4694 www.inertianetwork.com
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After breakfast we will check out of our rooms and meet in the lobby with our luggage to put them in storage for
the day (for those wishing to keep their rooms until 10pm, we can arrange for a day room for you for an additional
fee). Today we will embark on another epic day trip around greater Cairo. This massive city is the most populous in
the Arab world and has been built from thousands of years of human history. We’ll start the morning off at the
Great Pyramids and Sphinx, where we will take a camel ride into the scrub desert to a point where all of the
pyramids align. We’ll have a traditional Egyptian lunch near the Pyramids.
In the afternoon, we’ll explore the old mosques and culture of Islamic Cairo-- the “modern” city’s oldest
neighbourhood dating back over a thousand years. There, we’ll visit the incredible architecture at the Sultan
Hassan Mosque, climb the tall minaret at the Ibn Tulun Mosque for a view over all of Islamic Cairo, and then
explore the Khan El Khalili bazaar, where ancient mosques, artisans, workers, restaurants and tea shops converge
in Cairo’s narrow streets. We’ll have a late dinner in the city before returning to the hotel to collect our luggage and
drive to the airport. Our flight to Socotra leaves very early the next morning.
Post-Trip Day :: Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 :: Cairo
Upon our arrival in Cairo we’ll drive downtown, check in to our hotel and enjoy a final dinner together at Filfila
Restaurant, just a five minute walk away from our hotel. Departures will be coordinated for the next day.
Overnight: Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir.
Post-Trip Day :: Thursday, February 20th, 2020 :: depart from Cairo
Breakfast is included at the hotel restaurant. Departures to be coordinated throughout the day.You can also read
