Things to Do in Berbera, Somalia

Quick facts: The long sandy beaches of Berbera stretch for tens of kilometers along the Gulf of Aden coast, and the water here is so clear you can see fish swimming at your feet. In July the air heats up to 40°C, but the light breeze from the sea makes the heat quite bearable.

Highlights: An hour's drive from the beach lies an ancient ghost town. Abandoned colonial buildings made of coral stone stand right on the shore, and the waves are gradually washing away their foundations. Local fishermen still go to sea on wooden sambuk boats built without a single nail, and they often treat tourists to freshly caught tuna right on the sand.

Quick facts: 95% of all Somaliland's maritime trade passes through the Port of Berbera. More than 2 million tons of cargo are handled here annually, including livestock for Persian Gulf countries.

Highlights: The port hides concrete piers from the British colonial era, which still bear traces of bullet holes from the civil war. Local boys dive off the docks for coins that tourists throw from passing ships.

Quick facts: The narrow streets of Berbera hold the memory of times when the port was the main gateway of Somalia for trade with Arabia and India. The local stone houses with carved wooden doors remember the steps of merchants who arrived here on dhows across the Gulf of Aden.

Highlights: In the Old Town, unique Ottoman hammam baths have been preserved, which are more than 150 years old and where you can still feel the heat of a real stone stove. From the roof of one of the ruined merchant villas, a view opens onto a labyrinth of alleyways where boys kick a ball among walls that are 400 years old.

Quick facts: The Ottoman fort in Berbera was built by the Ottomans in the 19th century to protect the strategic port on the Gulf of Aden coast. The fort walls rise to 10 meters, and from its towers you can see a panoramic view of the city and the turquoise waters of the gulf.

Highlights: Inside the fortress, original 19th-century Ottoman cannons have been preserved, still pointing toward the sea as if awaiting an attack. Locals believe that secret underground passages were laid beneath the fort connecting it to the center of Berbera, but not one of them has been found to this day.

Quick facts: Every morning here they unload up to 50 tons of fresh fish brought by local fishermen on traditional boats. The trading begins before dawn and follows an auction principle: whoever shouts loudest gets the best catch.

Highlights: Here you can try shark meat for the first time in your life, grilled right on the coals next to the dock. Local cooks prepare it with hot pepper and lime. Fishermen let you climb into their boats and take photos with three-meter hammerhead sharks while they are still lying on the concrete floor.

Quick facts: The beach stretches for 2 kilometers along the Gulf of Aden coast with white sand that resembles Caribbean resorts. The water temperature here stays around 26-30 degrees all year round, and locals call this place the "Somali Maldives."

Highlights: 10 meters from the shore a coral reef begins, where in one hour you can count up to 40 species of tropical fish, from clownfish to blue tangs. Early in the morning local fishermen come here on traditional dhow boats, and you can buy freshly caught tuna right from the deck for a couple of dollars.

Quick facts: The Berbera Lagoon serves as a key stopover for migratory birds following the East African flyway; tens of thousands of individuals rest here annually. The salinity of the water in the lagoon is almost twice as high as in the open ocean, which creates a unique ecosystem with pink salt-loving microorganisms.

Highlights: In windless calm, the surface of the lagoon turns into a perfect mirror reflecting the sky with such clarity that the boundary between water and air disappears. At sunset the water takes on an intense pink-purple hue due to tiny halophilic bacteria oxidizing the salt in the shallows.

Quick facts: The Sheikh Range stretches for 60 kilometers along the Gulf of Aden coast, and its highest point reaches 2,500 meters. It is the only place in Somalia where you can see real juniper forests and encounter the rarest dibatag antelopes leaping along the rocky slopes.

Highlights: At an altitude of 2,000 meters, clouds cling to the mountain slopes, creating the illusion that you are walking right through the sky between the trunks of ancient junipers. Some of these trees reach 500 years of age, and their roots have been growing into granite cracks for decades, literally splitting the rock.