DJIBOUTI
Djibouti is safe, some parts easy to do independently and some you need a guide if you are not an excellent driver with 4×4. Djibouti is expensive and few things to do, but pleasant enough for a couple of days, with Lake Abbeh landscape being the highlight.
Visa: e-visa through https://www.evisa.gouv.dj/ 12€ fast and easy 2 days, no arrival visas are done anymore. No LOI but ask for hotel booking, refundable booking ok. Need plane reservation, photo, passport scan and hotel reservation (all less than 1mb)
Money. Djiboutian Franc (DJF) 1 US$ = 178; 1€ = 189; 1 CAD = 132.
USD from some ATMs The best place to withdraw money is the Bank of Africa in the main square. The fee was 600 DJF, whereas other random Bank of Africa/Saba Africa ATMs charged 1600 DJF
SIM. Telekom sim card for 1000 DJF, data for 500 DJF (3 days, 5 GB). Because of the conflict in Ethiopia, social media is banned in Djibouti. The only VPN that worked was the app “SuperVPN”.
Tours. Many tour operators are available online. You don’t have to have a guide for Djibouti.
Bambu Tours – Daniel +253 77 87 91 20 Whats-ap. Most are very happy with him. Can book for 2 days to see Lake Abbeh and Lake Assal. Helpful throughout stay, dropping you off at the airport, investigated boat tours to Moucha Island. Speaks several languages
Moussa Bellah – Massigo Djibouti Travel Whatsapp: +25377278015. More expensive than Daniel and not as helpful. $550 two days with overnight at the camp, expensive. Moussa gave me a price for 4 days of $1150 – only Lake Abbe can not be accessed by a rental car.
Other tour companies: Somaliland Travel, Trip2Djib, Rushing Water Adventures (very expensive! US based!), Dolphin Excursions, Djib Tour & Travel and Acqua Club for info on diving / snorkelling.
https://www.traveldjibouti-eastafrica.com
Transportation. Lake Abhe can’t be done by public transportation so need a driver/guide and at least one night there. Lake Assal can be a day trip and by public transport. Rent a car from Eurocar with credit card. Don’t follow Google Maps.
Rent a 4×4 and do it on your own. No checkpoints. Road to Lake Assal good but to reach the camp in Abhe is basically desert.
Season. Summer 45 in the day and rarely below 41-42 at night, both with ridiculous humidity. In the winter, nights are cool so AC is not needed. Whale sharks Nov-early February.
Hotels:
City Guest Hotel (Djib Guesthouse on Booking.com) $50 including breakfast, a new hotel, 15 min walk to Kempinski (nice stroll along Heron beach and nice views, place for a drink by the poolside, beach and 30 min walking from L’ Éscale Marina (by Aqua Diving Center on google maps) to where the passenger ferries take off. Port Djibouti is only for big ships.
Ali Sabieh hotel (no website, not on booking, walk in) also $50 including breakfast (omelett, bread, coffee). Excellent location, right in the centre. Built in the 80s, a bit warn out but does the job.
Many other hotel options around Ali Sabieh, with prices $70 and up.
Djibouti City Hotel. downtown, great accessibility to restaurants and the feel for the city but extremely expensive. Chain hotels are expensive, but local hotels not so.
Auberge Boulaos on Booking. A year ago it was 50, now 64 EUR. 4 km from downtown. Offer a service to town and back, or a minibus back to near hotel.
Huts at Foret du Day and Lake Abbe are very basic and can be arranged independently. A camp with electricity, nice toilets and showers
Tadjourah – La Golfe hotel.
Get in Amsterdam-Paris-Djibouti with Air France
Fly Dubai currently has flights every second day to JIB
Ethiopian Airlines from Addis, Mogadishu. Eriteria to Djib may be easiest to do by flying via Addis. Air Djibouti to Hargeisa Somaliland.
Getting around: To get to Lake Abbe and Abourma, a high clearance vehicle (usually a 4×4 is required. Otherwise a normal car is OK. We used 4×4 only once for a short 15m steep rocky area of road.
Taxis are not expensive except from the airport where they all charge $20. Walk outside and hitchhike to the large intersection and get a normal taxi for 1000 ($6).
Day 1 Tue Jan 10
Flight Mogadishu – Djibouti @ 11:20-18:30 via Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa.
At immigration in Djibouti, I presented my e-visa print out (prepaid 12€), got a stamp (no full-page visa) on my “Don’t Stamp This Page” page leaving two full-pages left in my passport.
The airport taxis for the 8 km ride were the usual terrible taxi touts “$20” which is ridiculous. I walked out to the nearby road and got an immediate ride to a major intersection. From there it was a taxi for 1000 DF ($6). He was totally French but we were able to stop at an ATM and I withdrew 30,000 DF. When we got to the hotel, the price was changed to 2000. Good luck.
ON City Guesthouse. Clean, king-sized bed, nice share bathroom, A/C, fan, included BF for $54. I only had $53 and he took that. Only French or Arabic on the TV.
DJIBOUTI CITY (pop 600,000)is the capital of Djibouti, and has more people than the rest of Djibouti combined (54%). It is located in the coastal Djibouti Region on the Gulf of Tadjoura.
The settlement was founded in 1888 by the French. Known as the Pearl of the Gulf of Tadjoura due to its location, Djibouti is strategically positioned near the world’s busiest shipping lanes and acts as a refueling and transshipment center. The Port of Djibouti is the principal maritime port for imports to and exports from neighboring Ethiopia. Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport is the main domestic airport, connecting the capital to various major global destinations. Djibouti has the second-largest economy of any city in the Horn of Africa after Addis Ababa.
History: Ras Djibouti as a highly strategic location, a future bridgehead for French designs in the rest of Africa and Asia. It is then that this point begins to be used as departure for caravans towards Harar. Founded in 1888, its main purpose was to protect French trade routes to Madagascar and Indochina. Many Issa and Afar nomads left their herds to settle here, built houses on what is now the downtown area. The French and natives built hotels, houses, mosques and churches. The Yemeni, Egyptian, Greek, Armenian and Italian merchants and traders. Its main activity remains the supply of French ships en route to Indochina or Madagascar. Only 150,000 tonnes of freight per year are handled.
Djibouti became the center of exports from southern Ethiopia and the Ogaden, including trade in Harari coffee and khat. When Djibouti declared Independence on 27 June 1977, the population of Djibouti was over 110,000.
Climate arid with very hot rainless summers and a very warm, slightly wetter winter season.
Demographics. Djibouti is a multi-ethnic town. It has a population of around 603,900 residents (Djiboutians) in 2018. The largest ethnic group are the Somali and the second largest being Afars, both Cushitic speaking peoples.
Tourism and food. Among the more popular eateries in the capital city are the Café de la Gare, the Zip Zap Restaurant and Shisha Lounge.
Djibouti Airlines also had its head office in the city.
The two small Maskali and Moucha islands are an hour’s boat ride from Djibouti. They with mangroves, a rich seabed and colorful algae.
Transport.
Bus: A comprehensive public transport network. Buses stationed at the Djibouti Bus Service Enterprise. Local informal minibuses and taxis. The main bus hub in Djibouti is the Central Bus Station, located at the crossing of Rue de Bender.
Air. Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport. Air Djibouti, Yemenia, Air France, Flydubai, Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Kenya Airways and Qatar Airways. 6 kilometres from the city centre.
Railway. Djibouti is a terminus of the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway. There are two local railway stations: a passenger station at Nagad
One day here is more than enough.
Airports: Djibouti (JIB)
DECAN Refuge is about 10 km southeast of Djibouti with endangered animals, often victims of poaching. Protects cheetahs, lions, caracals and ostriches.
Tropical Aquarium
Le paysage urbain historique de la ville de Djibouti et ses bâtiments spécifiques Tentative WHS (05/01/2015)
Khor Ambado beach is fifteen kilometres (9.3 miles) from the city center. Beach with restaurant.
Day 2 Wed Jan 11
At BF, Moussa appeared to take a Polish woman to Arte Beach to see whale sharks. We were immediately at odds with each other. I could only describe him as a “slippery” character – hard to get clear answers or understand my issues. I finally called him a bullshitter and he got quite angry with me. Daniel explained that going from Arte beach was not recommended as the boat operators were not reliable, you could have engine problems or weather issues and they would be unable to help much. It was much safer to go from the pier to get a boat.
I phoned Daniel and agreed to a two day/one night trip to Lake Abbe and Lake Assal for $600. It took me a while to get my head around the price but a 4WD cast almost $395 to rent for one day, Daniel explained that if I got stuck, it would cost $500 to get you out. The price was all-inclusive.
Daniel arrived at the hotel promptly at 09:30, we discussed the trip and left stopping for drinks, food and cigarettes.
He is a very smart straight forward guy and explained a lot of Horn of Africa politics. He is very knowledgable and we got along right away. The vehicle is a Land Cruiser and both he and a driver were present.
We stopped for lunch, but had Ethiopian coffee. As most of the vehicles are Ethiopian truckers, birr are the common currency. We passed the road to Dire Dawa with the Ethiopian border only 20 km away (it parallels the border for the entire distance). This is a major route to Ethiopia and there were many big trucks.
35 km from Abbe, we stop at a village.to buy quat as a gift to the people at the lake and where the main”production” is children. There are children everywhere. They used to marry at age 12 for girls and 14 for boys. Electricity and education arrived about 3 years ago and now it is 14 and 16. None of the children are begging which is nice. French soldiers give candy and money which is a bad habit. All the homes are plaster covered mud bricks.
Marrying cousins is common. In Arab culture a boy would marry the cousin of an uncle but the Afar culture, it would be the child of an aunt so as not to dilute power.
The road braids all over the place as we drive down a very wide wadi and it is easy to take the wrong one. There is a range of low hills on both sides – the one to follow is towards the end of the one on the right side. Possibly the main reason to have a guide is for route finding – there are no signs, markers or obvious route and following a mapping program often leads one in the wrong direction. In fact, 4WD is only used in one 15 m section as you cross the hills near the lake when the road goes up a steep, rocky section. Only high clearance is necessary. We got our here and climbed a low rise to get a view of the lake and the chimneys. My long experience driving 4WD in Canada and the US would have been more than adequate. The other significant issue is to not leave the established tracks as you approach the lake. It may appear solid but the high water table produces soft areas where even a 4×4 will get stuck. That is what can cost $500 for the locals to dig you out.
20 km away we pass through the last village. There is a nice school and community centre but the houses consist of sticks, are flat roofed and not covered with tarps. We passed four people walking from here to the lake.
Lac Abbeh: son paysage culturel, ses monuments naturels et son écosystème (05/01/2015). Of tectonic origin, it is an endorheic salt lake in East Africa straddling the border with Ethiopia. 60% of the lake is in Ethiopia.
8500 years ago, Lake Abbeh occupied most of the Gobaad depression with an area of 6000km². The infiltration of water rich in gypsum (calcium sulphate) meeting at high temperature with the sodium carbonate waters of Lake Abbeh causes an over saturation resulting in sulphurous steam chimneys or fumaroles that led to its drying out. Construction of dams in Ethiopia have accelerated the aridity. A combination of cyanobacteria and algae are crucial in fixing the calcium. There are literally hundreds of chimneys of all sizes weirdly eroded into all sorts of shapes. When the locals dig down, hot springs are formed which they drain away with ditches. We saw four hot springs. Natural springs also produce verdant areas of grass. One was fenced with poles for pasteuring their goats.
The archaeological site of Asa Koma is about thirty kilometers from Lake Abbeh and dates to the second millennium BC. It includes graves, furniture: decorated ceramics, bone tools, and net weights. The economy was based on fishing, hunting (especially jackal), and cattle breeding.
The archaeological site of Barogali, is 30 km from Lake Abbeh. Fossilized remains of large mammals includes elephant, one of the few known butchering sites in the Oldowan and Early Acheulean period of East Africa.
Abbeh Lake is a relatively shallow salt lake 8.6 meters deep. Spectacular drying since the 1950s has caused it size to reduce from 552 km2 in 1939, to 396 km2 in 1955, and to 180 km2 in 1989 – more than 67% in 60 years. Lake Abbeh receives water from the Awash River. It has no outlet except evaporation. It is connected to five other lakes which are Lake Afambo, Lake Bario, Lake Gargori, Lake Gummare and Lake Laitali. On the eastern side of Lake Abbeh, there are several small freshwater hot springs. These springs were once at the bottom of the lake and created chimneys (or fumaroles) of crystallized minerals that are now exposed in the open air and thirty and fifty meters in height. they consist of diatoms, bacteria and calcium carbonate, all easily visible on the surface of the chimneys.
There is little vegetation with trees only along the wadis. About twenty thousand species of birds are listed: the greater flamingo and the lesser flamingo, lesser spurred lapwings and plover, and migrating waders such as the wagtail and the little sandpiper. Freshwater fish are in the lake and Pelzeln’s gazelles are around the lake. We saw two groups of warthogs with five animals. One had enormous tusks. We were able to take photos fairly close as they grazed on an area of green grass fed from springs.
We arrived at the lake camp – two large buildings (one with a solar-powered freezer to put your drinks in) and several “sleeping huts”. Some are stone walled with a tent-like roof and fans and some are mat covered domes. Each has two cots with mattresses.
I slept on a cot outside and would encourage all to do the same to experience it. After dinner, Daniel and walked out to the chimneys for sunset. Eleven local Afar men put on a very nice dance/singing show. They sang about 4 songs and we participated.
ON Lake Abbe camp. The spectacular “dark sky” was less because of a 3/4 moon. There was no mosquitoes and a nice breeze, a much cooler place to sleep than in the provided accommodation. The wind stopped at about 4 and the mosquitoes arrived but with some Deet, all was fine.
Day 3 Thur Jan 12
At 05:30, we were driven back out to the chimneys, visited another hot spring (all man made) and walked for about an hour, eventually returning for breakfast. At 09:00 we left returning the way we came until the turn off for Lake Assal.
First we are up at 05:30 to walk out to the chimneys for sunrise. There are no clouds and sunrise nit vert spectacular.
After breakfast we drove to Mount Michele, the largest chimney, 60m high and 90m inn diameter and park at a nearby chimney. It has a steaming hot water spring with a fumeral at its very top. Daniel does his usual blowing on the surface and waving a lit cigarette over the surface, both of which cause significant steam it be generated – magic (probably caused by cooler air).
At the first village there is a noise from the left rear wheel. The bottom leaf of the spring has unusually twisted out laterally. The driver tries to pound it back in but part of the frame prevents it. We are soon surrounded by 15 little kids, all barefoot and some with snotty noses and pussy eyes and who hold out there hands for bonbons. We are unsuccessful and drive on hoping to see a mechanic in the next town. They are able to pound the spring back and try to find a way to prevent it from happening again.
We continued onto the town we had coffee on day 2. Two truckers from Ethiopia invited me to share lunch of beans, salad and bread. Daniel also bought salad with tuna and bread plus spaghetti. It was all delicious.
Aire naturelle protégée de Djalélo (05/01/2015). In the Arta region, 40 km from the capital. 45 km². Home to Waller’s gazelle or “giraffe gazelle”, a species of antelope with long slender legs and a slender neck. Stands to eat acacia leaves, shoots, buds, fruits and flowers, but no grass. Also Beira antelope, the Soemmering gazelle, the Pelzeln gazelle and the Salt’s dik-dik.
Adaleh Canyon. Where the African, Arabian and Somali plates come together and an extension of the Rift Valley. it is called the Grand Canyon of Djibouti. We stopped at a viewpoint on the highway for photos. It is possible to walk down in 30 minutes and is quite impressive.
Viewpoint over Goubet al Kharab, an extension of the Gulf of Tadjourah. Devil’s Island, a volcanic cone sits at the west end.
Djibouti – Obock, Tadjourah
Borders: Djibouti (sea border/port), Djibouti-Ethiopia
Le Lac Assal Tentative WHS (05/01/2015). Lake Assal is an endorheic salt lake in the Afar depression, at an altitude of 153 meters below sea level (the lowest point on the African continent and the third-lowest point on Earth after the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea). It was formed by the opening of the Great Rift Valley. The area consists of a dry part, a white plain dry lake bed, and the highly saline water body. The main source of water supply is subsurface geothermal springs with aquifers linked to sea water. Specialized algae and fish live in the lake.
The lake water has 351 gm of salt per litre (normal sea water is 22 gm/l). There is a Chinese factory at the south end discharging chemicals directly into the lake changing the colour of the water and producing a long line of white scum that covers the east end of the lake. The plant hires no Djibouti workers, all are Chinese.
At the north end the water ends at a white salt flat that is 80 m thick. Anything left on the salt (animal skulls, wood sticks, rebar is completely encrusted with white salt in a week.
It is only nice to visit for 10-15 min. Not much to do after walking on the salt lake, taking some photos, very hot, no facilities. The pollution makes one hesitant to swim or float in the lake after seeing the solvent bubbles and realizing the chemical smell.
Hamoudi Mosque. The only NM site in Djibouti City, it is downtown no where near where Google Maps places it. It is an older mosque, white with green trim and an interesting minaret – round with green balconies. Inside the low ceiling prayer room has 36 columns and an uninspiring mihrab.
ON City Guest Hotel
Day 4 Fri Jan 13
Moucha island
Moucha island (pop 20, much higher in the summer) is a small coral island 15 kilometres (9 miles) south of the Djibouti’s mainland in the center of the Gulf of Tadjoura. It is less than 3 km long and is surrounded by the smaller Maskali Islands, a few islets and a coral reef. Has an arid climate very warm in December, January and February, to extremely hot in July. The economy is mainly tourism and one of the popular holiday destinations in Djibouti. Snorkelling with whale sharks is not as good as at Arta Beach. The season is November to early February and one of the best in the world. Musha is the main city on the island.
History: In 1840, it was sold to Great Britain for ten sacks of rice. In 1887, Britain ceded it to France recognizing the French sphere of influence in the Gulf of Tadjoura, in exchange for the abandonment by France of any right in Zeila and the neighboring Sa’ad ad-Din Islands.
Moucha Island is very expensive to charter a boat, if not in a sizeable group. Travel companies usually do not have boats going with other people Djibouti is a small place and there are only a handful operators. Diving is not well established, only 1-2 companies do it and only if they have a big group.
Daniel was able to arrange for me to join a group of French expats going for the day. There were three boats of about 12-14 each – army, families and other French who left at 09:30, taking about 30 minutes. $60. By arrival, I was completely soaked but I was sitting on the front right. Forget your electronics but do bring what you want to drink as a small Heinekin was $6.50 and a small pop $3.25 (all the others had large coolers of beer). We went to a resort on the east end – several condo style buildings, a large covered area of picnic tables and palapas with loungers to sunbath. It is a lovely beach – 1 km long of white, hard-packed sand backed by low dunes. I walked toward the end but was stopped “son interdit”. There were waves and only some swam. Most sat and drank beer and socialized looking after their kids. There is no point bringing snorkelling equipment to this beach as there was no coral or fish (on the other side is some coral and mediocre fish and a dive shop). An excellent lunch was served at 13:00 – a large salad, fries, chicken skewers (pay more for lobster) and fruit. We returned at 16:45 and sitting on the right got you soaked again.
Les îles Moucha et Maskali Tentative World Heritage Site (05/01/2015). Located in the opening of the Gulf of Tadjourah, the Moucha and Maskali islands are emerged madreporic reefs dating from the Upper Pleistocene (140,000 to 100,000 years BP) and shows the uplift that accompanies the opening of the rift.
These small desert islands include a lush mangrove swamp. Their underwater landscape includes multicolored algae, coral gardens and fauna such as the red-billed tropicbird, the reef egret, the Eurasian spoonbill, the chestnut-bellied sandgrouse and the stentor warbler, the whale shark, the ribbon-tailed stingray and various turtles. Moucha and Maskali islands have sandy beaches and an exceptional natural landscape.
I went out for dinner with Ric Gazarian (who I traveled with in Somalia) and Ed Hotchkiss and his wife from NYC at Signatures, a good Indian restaurant less than a block from City Guesthouse.
Day 4 Sat Jan 14.
Flight Air Djibouti: Djibouti – Hargeisa @13:30-14:45.
Itinerary #1
Day 1. Djibouti City: 1-2 nights stay when you come in and out plus 1-2 hrs walking around is more than enough.
Day 2. Moucha island. Beaches, swimming, mediocre to poor snorkelling, no whale sharks here.
Day 3. Assamo national park in the remote south-east at the Ethiopian border. Few tourists. Drive to Lake Abbe if coming from Assamo for sunset.
Day 4/5. 1 night / 1.5-2 days Lake Abbeh, Lake Asaal
Lake Asaal . The lowest point in Africa
Lake Abbe 1 night at Lake Abbeh campsite. The sunset and sunrise hikes are highlights with a surreal alien landscape.
Day 5. Abourma rock art site. A unique 3 kilometre stretch of rock art. It’s a 2 hour heavy off road drive from Foret du Day, and then a 90 minute hike in the sun over rocks. Terrible hike, but worth it. Same route back, visit Foret du Day and drive to Tadjourah fo. the night.
Day 6. Drive north to Obock near Eritrea and beyond to the coastal desert. Visit three mangroves with a boat tour to see many birds. On the way back the Obock lighthouse, the town and Tadjourah again.
Day 7. Visit the great rift area to stand on 2 continental plates! Then National Park Djalelo for more gazelles. Back in Djibouti city for the night.
Other destinations
Tadjourah: By land it would cost a lot and 4-5 hours driving, by public bus even longer, by ferry it took me about 2-2.5 hrs – pleasant enough with views of the bay. Departs Djibouti City Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:30 am (they tell you to come and que up 2 hrs prior! no advance tickets, long lines, 700 fran ($4) one-way). You man be the only foreigner and may be able to bypass the line.
Tadjourah itself is not pretty…You can either walk around and take the same ferry back in 1.5 hrs (enough!) departing around 1 p.m and arriving back to Djibouti City 3:30 p.m or you need to stay the night until the next ferry. Le Golfe hotel (5 min by tuktuk) is recommended.
Arta beach to snorkel/swim with the whale sharks (difficult to reach by land, 40 min by boat but very expensive alone or 2 people – quotes $350 to $800) Often there are no other people to share, no groups. Expats, NGOs and Military people charter their own boats, not open to others to join. This is the only place to whale sharks (not Moucha Island). Don’t get a boat at the beach but at the wharf, as they are much more reliable and get help if needed.
Also good snorkelling off the beach.
Djibouti – Djibouti, Arta, Ali Sabieh, Dikhil
Borders: Djibouti (sea border/port), Djibouti-Ethiopia, Djibouti-Somaliland
M@P Southern Dikhil (Dikhil, Mouloud, As Eyla)
Tentative WHS
Aire naturelle terrestre protégée d’Assamo (05/01/2015). In the south-east of Djibouti), it has has an area of 15 km².It is the natural habitat of the Beira antelope , the only representative of the genus. They live only in the arid and mountainous region of the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia). The Beira is a small antelope (80 to 86 cm) with large leaf-shaped ears. Only the males have horns. Its yellowish-red head is accented with black eyelids and white rings around the eyes. Its neck, back and short bushy tail are gray-rufous with a silver sheen.
Beaches: Khor Ambado Beach
ALI SABIEH
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Djibouti – Obock, Tadjourah
Borders: Djibouti (sea border/port), Djibouti-Ethiopia
Tentative WHS
Le Lac Assal (05/01/2015). Lake Assal is an endorheic salt lake in the Afar depression, at an altitude of 153 meters below sea level (the lowest point on the African continent and the third-lowest point on Earth after the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea). It was formed by the opening of the Great Rift Valley. The area consists of a dry part, a white plain dry lake bed, and the highly saline water body. The main source of water supply is subsurface geothermal springs with aquifers linked to sea water. Specialized algae and fish live in the lake.
Le Parc National de la forêt du Day (05/01/2015). Created in 1939 as a resort for Europeans with residences for the governor and the military.
Inseptember 1954, it is bounded by: Kimbirre – Mahourre – Douboulou – Gahahada – Guibdalala – Wagara – Hada – Abaguerra – Ilmi Edle – Datbogou – Airolaf – Sefita – Ataltali – A Donta – Mankale. This then represents an area of about 350 hectares
30 km 2 in size, they are 30 km west of the Gulf of Tadjourah with the Goda massif, the highest point of which is 1,782 m
It concentrates almost all the wooded zones of Djibouti and the critically endangered Djibouti Francolin, the country’s only endemic bird. 88% of these forests have disappeared.
Les Gravures Rupestre d’Abourma (05/01/2015) The Rock Engravings of Abourma are located in the north on the Makarrassou massif in the Tadjourah region.
This prehistoric rock art has three km of rock engravings of a disappeared pastoral life. Thousands of sometimes very detailed scenes of wild and domestic animals as well as men hunting and combat. The represent millennia of engravings and extend over 1500m of basaltic walls.
Wild animals (elephants, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, antelopes, etc.) and domestic animals (cattle, goats, camelids, etc.) testifies that the climate was humid with wooded plains. and verdant at the same time and shows agro-pastoral life of these populations. The use of lasso when hunting giraffes and auroch is important. Climate change with the gradual decrease in annual rainfall has decimated natural and animal fauna and left the rock carvings intact. They date from 38,000 BC from the Upper Palaeolithic to the present day.
Les paysages naturels de la région d’Obock (05/01/2015). The Obock region is located in the northeast on the coast of the Strait of Bad-el-Mandeb. The city of Obock, the former capital of Djibouti, is a port city at 1,780 m above sea level. It is an exceptional natural landscapes of
1. Mangroves: the three most important areas are on the North Coast, between Obock and Doumeira and include the Godoria Mangrove, Khor Angar mangrove and Ras Siyan Mangrove. They provide habitat for many terrestrial and marine animals and birds (green heron of the Red Sea, pelican, aquatic birds
2. Mabla Mountains are over 1000m altitude located 25 km west of Obock, It is an open forest with few tall trees and is home to a rich fauna: yellow-tailed” melba marquet, the rameron pigeon, the shaded warbler, the paradise flycatcher and the African screech-owl. Verreaux’s eagles
3. The islands of Seven Brothers are small volcanic islands located in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait which separates the Red Sea from the Indian Ocean. coral reefs, marine flora and fauna, and nesting sites for sea birds: Hemprich’s gulls, crested terns, passenger terns, osprey and the sooty falcon.
Les Tumulus (Awellos) (05/01/2015). Meaning “heaps of stones gathered by the ancestors” are ancient funerary complexes dating to around 3 thousand years BC. The majority of burial mounds are located near the town of Randa in the Tadjourah region and Dasbyo in the Ali-Sabieh region. Kings, customary chief, spiritual leader) were buried with precious goods (its precious stones, its sword, his material possessions). There are two types:
Mounds have either a flattened shape with stelae at the ends (men have two stelae at the ends and woman, in addition to two stelae, a third is placed in the center. They var from 2 to 3 m in height and about thirty meters wide made of black volcanic rocks
Lighthouses: Ras Bir Lighthouse