Socotra   forever

When standing on one of these dunes it’s easy to believe that you’re in the Sahara Desert, or that Lawrence of Arabia may appear from the shimmering haze.

In contrast to Arher the dune area is huge, with rippled sand stretching to the horizon. Socotra’s camels browse on the indigofera pseudointricata bushes near the dunes so this is the most likely place to see them if you are not doing a camel trek. For birders, Richard Porter adds: ‘on the plains and in the dunes look out for black-crowned sparrow-larks, desert wheatears and long-billed pipits; if you are lucky you might spot a cream-coloured courser. The tiny, endemic Socotra cisticola nests in the low scrub – listen out for its repeat “zip-zip” in it undulating song flight.’

The flat area near the scrub is littered with the shells of land snails. The beach and sea are a 40-minutes walk beyond the dunes so a bit too much effort for most people, who will save their swim for Aomak further west. Hayf is a similar dune area, smaller but still spectacular, just to the west of Zaheq. Along all of this coastal plain watch out for sand blowing in the air on windy days – it’s not good for either eyes or cameras.