GO·SOYour Gateway to SomalilandPlan trip
Illustration of a cheetah resting above green highlands, evoking nature in Somaliland

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Nature

Mountains, wildlife and wild coastlines: the nature of Somaliland, from cheetahs and camels to misty highlands and the Red Sea shore.

Nature and wildlife in Somaliland

Nature in Somaliland is greener and wilder than most visitors expect. In the Golis Mountains, the road from Berbera climbs through hairpin bends to Sheikh, a cool highland town that often sits above the clouds. Further east, the forested Daallo mountains rise high above the coast.

Camels are everywhere, at the heart of daily life, food and trade, and our guide to camels in Somaliland explains why. About an hour from Hargeisa, the rescue centre at Geed-Deeble cares for more than a hundred cheetahs. These guides cover the wildlife, mountains and coastline, with practical notes for visiting. Before any trip outside Hargeisa, check the latest official travel advice.

A gnarled frankincense tree growing on a rocky slopePhoto: Rod Waddington, CC BY-SA 2.0Frankincense and Myrrh Trees of Somaliland TodaySomaliland frankincense still comes from wild trees growing on steep mountain slopes, tapped by hand much as it was centuries ago. Here is how the trees grow, how the resin is gathered and sold, and what is being done to keep the harvest alive.Read the storyTwo Speke's gazelles on grassland among acacia trees, part of Somaliland wildlifePhoto: Tony King, CC BY 4.0Somaliland Wildlife: Gazelles, Antelopes and Where They LiveSomaliland wildlife includes thirteen recorded antelope species, from Salt's dik-dik to the long-necked gerenuk. Here is what lives on the plains and hills, how each species is doing, and where people have seen them.Read the storyDark mountains rising behind pale sand dunes across calm water under a cloudy skyPhoto: YoTuT, CC BY 2.0The Golis Mountains: Somaliland's Northern EscarpmentThe Golis Mountains rise between Somaliland's hot coastal plain and its cooler plateau. Here is where they run, what grows on their misty slopes, and what lives among their rocks.Read the storyA Somali wheatear on a thorny branch near Hargeisa, one of many Somaliland birdsPhoto: Ahmed Awale, CC0Birds of Somaliland: Rare Endemics, Seabird Islands and a Lost LarkSomaliland birds include a pigeon that almost no one has seen, a finch found only in these mountains and islands that hold huge seabird colonies. Here is what lives where, and when to look.Read the storyLimestone cliffs and green slopes of the Daallo mountains escarpment near ErigavoPhoto: Abukar Musa, CC BY-SA 4.0The Daallo Mountains: Somaliland's Forest in the CloudsThe Daallo mountains are Somaliland's great surprise: a cool, misty juniper forest high above the desert coast. Here is what grows there, which birds live nowhere else, and why it needs protecting.Read the storyCamels in Somaliland: the heads of dromedaries at the livestock market in HargeisaPhoto: Gerard van de Bruinhorst, ASC Leiden, CC BY-SA 4.0Camels in Somaliland: Milk, Poetry and the Wealth of the HerdCamels in Somaliland are far more than livestock. They feed families, fill poems and once set the price of peace. Here is how the camel shapes daily life and culture, from the milk jug to the market.Read the storyClose-up of a cheetah in profile at the CCF cheetah rescue centre in SomalilandPhoto: GO SomalilandSaving Somaliland’s Cheetahs: Inside the Rescue Centre at Geed-DeebleMore than a hundred cheetahs, most of them rescued as tiny cubs from smugglers, now live in the acacia scrub outside Hargeisa. We went to meet them.Read the storyGreen mountain slopes covered in shrubs and trees in SomalilandPhoto: GO SomalilandSheikh: Somaliland’s Mountain Town Above the CloudsHairpin bends, green slopes and cool air after the heat of the coast. Sheikh is the reward at the top of one of the most beautiful roads in Somaliland.Read the story

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