Somewhere in the Arabian Sea lies an island full of strange forms of life and is one of the strangest-looking places on Earth. The island is small and has been populated by a people whose genetic chain is only found on this strange island.

Socotra is now part of Yemen and has faced conflicts for long portions of its existence. Because of its unusual aspects, Socotra has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in order to protect the hundreds of species endemic to the island and to work to ensure that it stays protected.

This list will focus on a variety of aspects that make the island such a unique space, ranging from blue tarantulas, to white sand beaches and weirdly-shaped trees. Socotra is truly one of the most fascinating—and underappreciated—places on the planet.

25 Dragon's Blood Trees

Socotra island is full of flora and fauna that don’t exist anywhere else in the world, many of which look awfully funky. The most iconic of these is the Dragon’s Blood Tree. With its upward-facing needles, veiny branches, and extreme symmetry, this tree is usually the first thing you see looking into this mysterious island.

While not every plant and animal is as nice-looking as the Dragon’s Blood Tree, this is a good example of the oddity that you’ll get into on this island.

24 All Kinds Of Weird Creatures

All 29 native species of reptiles across the island are endemic including the Chamaeleo monachus. There are also 6 endemic bird species, along with a handful of spiders and several crabs. The only mammals native to the island are bats. You probably get the point by now. There are a lot of things that grow and live here that you aren’t going to find anywhere else in the world.

While there have been some species introduced over the years by humans, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is full of weird creatures.

23 Elephant Leg Trees

The cucumber tree is another species endemic to Socotra and is easily recognizable thanks to its ‘elephant-leg’ trunks. The tree is one of the funkiest species on the island and can grow anywhere on the island that stays dry. In some areas, there are just the occasional isolated trees, but in others, there are nearly forests of the things in the desert regions of the island.

This was one of the first strange species that tipped people off to the fact that this island was unlike anywhere else in the world.

22 Creepy White Sands

The many beaches across the island shores have unique white sands that look as alien as the rest of the island. The warm temperatures and beautiful sands would naturally make the island a beautiful place for a beach vacation. Of course, that’s not necessarily how things have worked out, but the beaches definitely show how strange and beautiful this island can be. The island is mostly bordered by these beaches and some mountainous cliffs.

21 Floating Trees

Beyond the unusual and unique forms of life across the island, there are also plenty of strange sights. Images like this ‘floating tree’ hint that the island is a great location for hiking and climbing. You’re sure to find all kinds of peculiar things across the mountainous regions of the island.

The isolation of the island has resulted in some pretty extreme evolutions in the plants and animals, resulting in a weird, alien-looking landscape.

20 Isolated Island

Socotra is one of four islands in the archipelago, but is by far the largest and one of the only inhabited. The island is only about 80 by 30 miles large but is the most alien-looking place on Earth.

This isolated island is technically part of Yemen, but is closer to the coast of Somalia. There are plenty of beaches along with a large desert and a mountainous area as well.

19 Mysterious Mists

This small island holds a decent amount of geographic diversity. While the rainfall is usually mild, the island gets more rain during monsoon season and around the coastal mountains, leading to some serious fog across the coasts. The temperatures across Socotra stay fairly steady throughout the year, going from fairly mild (around 70 degrees) to hot (around 95 degrees).

No matter what time of year you find yourself on the island, chances are you’ll see these mysterious mists off the shore.

18 Alien Garden Of Eden

The so-called ‘Galapagos of the Indian Ocean’ has over three hundred species of plants that are only found on Socotra island. According to National Geographic, over 90% of the reptiles and mollusks are endemic as well.

The famous Dragon’s Blood Tree is the most recognizable species on the island and is said to have grown from the spot where two brothers fought to the death. Some of them are thousands of years old at this point.

17 Mountains Of Alien Trees

Because of the rare species all over the island, Socotra became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the mountains and plains are littered with these trees, it has been very difficult to get new ones to grow. Most of the Dragon’s Blood trees across the island have been there for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

This is a potential issue for the future of the island since they are dying off quicker than they are growing.

16 Coast of Yemen

Socotra is the largest of four islands in the archipelago, sitting in between Yemen in the Middle East and Somalia in Eastern Africa. The Guardafui Channel is one of the most-travelled shipping routes in the world and passes just over the archipelago. Ships passing by can look over to the inconspicuous island that, from the ocean looks like any other.

It’s a good spot for whale watching because it opens up right into the Arabian Sea, sitting as the first sight of land going into the Channel.

15 Starlight Over The Beaches

The island is largely tropical with a significant amount of desert climate, but of course, there are beaches all around. There aren’t too many people living on the island, so large parts of it are fairly isolated. There are multiple white sand beaches to venture to across the island and, being so far away from mainland Yemen with just a few small towns mostly on the north of the island, Socotra has some of the best stargazing in the world.

14 The Star-ling Of Socotra

Around a quarter of the species on the island are endemic to Socotra, meaning they are only found on this small island and nowhere else in the world. Because of how sparse the human population is on the island and the lack of resource-mining, most of these species are doing quite well, if not thriving.

The Socotra Starling, or Onychognathus frater, is fairly large for starlings and munches on just fruit and insects across the island.

13 Boating To The Island

Despite its alien-like characteristics, Socotra actually isn’t that difficult to get to because of the airport that has been there for twenty years. However, it is possible to boat from mainland Yemen to the island, and the sea is a major system of traveling across the island since there are mountainous and desert terrains across the land. Fishing is also one of the most important portions of Socotra’s economy so you’ll likely see plenty of these small motorboats all around the island.

12 Cave Views

Across the mountains in the center of Socotra, there are hundreds of small caves filled with stalactites and stalagmites alike. The views from these high-up caves reveal the strange, barren, alien landscape of the island. There are tons of unexplored nooks and crannies that make the whole place just a little bit creepy.

These vantage points are home to a variety of native species but you never quite know exactly who, or what, might be looking down from them.

11 Creepy Crawlies

This “jewel of biodiversity in the Arabian Sea,” according to Reuters, is home to nearly 700 endemic species, similar to just a handful of islands or archipelagos across the globe.

Socotra, Hawaii, New Caledonia in the South Pacific, New Zealand, and the Galápagos Islands are the only places on Earth where you will find such extreme rates of endemic species, so make sure you check out this island if you need to fill out your Pokédex.

10 Traversing The Island

The majority of the people living on the island are native members of the indigenous Soqotri peoples. These people are genetically similar to Southern Arabian peoples, but there is also a small number of Somali people across the island as well. There are a handful of towns across the island with Habidu being the main ‘city’ with about 8,500 people according to the island’s census.

Most of these towns lie far apart from one another, so off-terrain vehicles, sand buggies, and boats are commonly used to get from one town to another.

9 Dolphins Swim By The Caves

While there is certainly plenty of unique wildlife across the island of Socotra, the sea around it is full of dolphins, whales, and fish. Just off of the mountain coasts and white sand beaches, you can see these dolphins playing in the Arabian Sea. International tourism doesn’t provide very much to the Socotra economy; however, it is a common place for Yemeni vacation homes.

There is also a United Nations Development Program on the island that’s in place to preserve and promote the island.

8 Ruins Of Socotra

Socotra has been inhabited for 2,000 years and has several archeological sites across the island. While there haven’t been that many major finds in terms of financially-valuable resources or many historical artifacts, there are some sites that are worth visiting. There are a handful of ancient and abandoned forts on the coasts that are free for visiting and give some diversity to the types of things you can see on the island.

7 The Locals Who Live On The Island

The island of Socotra is lightly populated, primarily by the Soqotris people. The number of people that live across the island (estimated around 60,000) mostly live between the towns of Hadibu and Qalansiya. Most of the native residents live in relative poverty and work largely in agriculture.

Fishing is the largest source of income along with shepherding and dates. There are some genetic lines that only appear in natives of the island and nowhere else in the entire world.

6 Crater Climbing

The most extreme area of the island in the Hajhir Massif mountain range. You can easily make it to the mountain range north of the town of Hadibo on the Southern coast of the island.

The highest point of the mountain range and the whole island is Mashanig mountain which peaks at 1500m above sea level. Several popular local myths across the island focus on climbing the mountain range. This is still a common activity for the locals and the few tourists that travel here.