5 stunning must see places

1. Sheikh

The small town of Sheikh lies at a relatively lofty altitude of 1,470m in the Golis Range, a mountainous escarpment that separates the coastal plain from the main Somali Plateau. The town straddles the 120Km surfaced road that runs southeast from Berbera to Burao, and lies exactly halfway between these two larger towns. The ascent here from Berbera along the Sheikh pass folllows one of the most dramatic roads in Somaliland, starting from the village of Hudisa at the base of the Golis Range, then climbing some 700m.

2. Mount Wagar

Mount Wagar is one of the highest points of the Golis Range, the 2,004m Wagar supports an extensive cover of afromontane forest, dominated by the coniferous Juniperus procera and evergreen Buxus hilderbrantii, while the lower slopes support patches of the pre-historic-looking succulent Euphorbia candelabra.

At one time Mount Wagar was home to a profusion of large mammals, including elephants and lions, and while these are long gone, local farmers claim that leopards are still seen in the forests, alongside the likes of Hamadryas baboon, greater kudu, lesser kudu and various small antelopes. Listed as part of the same Important Bird Area as Ga’an Libah, Wagar also supports a varied selection of forest and other montane birds. The localised chestnut-naped francolin, Gambaga flycatcher and brown-tailed rock chat are near-definitive ticks, and the latter is worth a careful scrutiny.

Other endemics present in the area include Somali Wheater, Somali thrush and starling. A mysterious ‘montane form’ of scops owl collected here (and also reported based in a recent visual record at Dallo) represents probably the only African populations of the Arabian scops owl.

3. Jasiira Maydh

Jasiira Maydh is situated 13 km off-shore and rises above the waves to a maximum altitude of 125m. It is about 2km long but no more than 300m wide. The island is particularly interesting as it is an important seasonal breading for various species of marine birds including up to 20,000 pairs of brown noddy, masked booby, brown booby, sooty tern, bridled tern, white-cheeked tern, the localised Socotra cormorant and the spectacular red billed tropic bird.

4. Zaila

Located on the Gulf of Aden coast near the Djibouti border, the town sits on a sandy spit surrounded by the sea. It is known for its coral reef, mangroves and offshore islands, which include the Sa’ad ad-Din archipelago named after the Somali Sultan Sa’ad ad-Din II of the Sultanate of Ifat. Landward, the terrain is unbroken desert for some fifty miles. Berbera lies 170 miles (270 km) southeast of Zeila, while the city of Harar in Ethiopia is 200 miles (320 km) to the west.

5. Naasa Hablood

Naasa Hablood are twin hills situated in Maroodijeex, just outside Hargeisa. Located on the outskirts of the city of Hargeisa, the structures are made of granite and sand. The hills were dubbed Naasa Hablood due to their distinctive conical shape, and its resemblance to thelarchic breast buds. It’s particularly worth going just before sunset or before sun rise if you really want to witness the stunning rays of the sun reflect of the twin mountains.