This Remote Island Looks Like It Belongs on Another Planet — But It’s Closer Than You Think

This Remote Island Looks Like It Belongs on Another Planet — But It’s Closer Than You Think (Image: Canva)

When you think of a place where landscapes do not conform, where trees are umbrella-shaped and the colours change in unrealistic light, welcome to Socotra, which is a part of Yemen yet strangely out of place with anything you know. The island is known as the strangest-looking one on Earth and is located in the Arabian Sea, some 380km south of the mainland of Yemen. Its remote nature has enabled animals and plants to develop and even grow in a manner that is almost impossible to imagine.

The first thing that visitors see is the Dragon Blood Trees - these are an umbrella-like canopy, which appears to be carved instead of naturally growing. The trees are called so because of their red sap, and their figures standing against the limestone plateau look like productions in a sci-fi movie rather than something on earth. Even further off are other flora and fauna not found anywhere on the mainland: hundreds of other species that are native to Socotra and adapted to either extreme of heat, wind or water-drought.

The otherworldly effect is added to by the geography itself. Ragged mountains, rocky valleys, white sand beaches, dunes, bays with turquoise, limestone caves, it is all in a rather limited land space. The coast is interspersed with cliffs and smooth bays. The topography changes radically inland, with dry ridges juxtaposed with some areas of green life in areas of fog or occasional rainfall. The light also has its role: golden in the morning, cruel in the middle of the day, gentle and creepy in the evening.

Remote but not inaccessible is Socotra. People visit by sea or air, through chartered flights, but the facilities are primitive. There are traditional villages that uphold the century-old traditions. Stone-built homes, cultural processes that have changed very little, languages that are distinct, this is a place where stepping out of comfort zones is also stepping out of what is expected of us today. But here, too, we have a human touch that is slight compared to the boldness of nature.

The surreal aesthetics of Socotra are also a caution. Climate change, overgrazing and scarcity are putting pressure on the weak ecosystems. Designation as a World Heritage Site is one of the conservation efforts to protect this rare vantage point on evolutionary possibility. The trip to Socotra can be a revelation - not only in its scenery, but it is a lesson in how varied, weird and valuable life on our own world can be.