Suo catra Travel Guide

Karath is an excellent natural tourist destination. Everything here is like the scene of an alien planet. All kinds of strange trees and vegetation and many strange animals opened my eyes. The following is a detailed tour introduction.

In some plots of movies, we often see an alien world different from the earth, where the natural environment and habitat are different from the earth, which is desirable. In fact, there is an alien-like environment on earth, which is called "the only alien world on earth". Far from the continental plate and surrounded by the ocean, it has existed alone on the earth for 654.38+080 million centuries. Most of the animals and plants on the island are invisible in other places.

Karath is an island in the Arabian Sea. The population of the island is about 50,000 Arabs and blacks. In the 7th century, the Sultanate of Maheri ruled the island and present-day East Yemen. 1967 After the disintegration of the Sultanate, the island became a part of independent Yemen.

Karath is located at the junction of Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean in the Gulf of Aden. It is the main maritime traffic route from the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and East Africa, and it is the maritime lifeline connecting Asia, Africa and Europe. Its strategic position is extremely important. The island is egg-shaped, which is 3.5 times that of Hong Kong. It is not only the largest island in Yemen, but also the largest island in the Arab world.

This is an island located on the west side of the Indian Ocean, named "Karath", which is the territorial waters of Yemen. It is reported that the island was separated from the mainland plate as early as 654.38+0.8 billion years ago. Long-term geographical isolation and different climate adjustments make the scenery on the island very strange. About 40% plants, 90% reptiles and 95% snails are endemic to the island. And the plants on the island, whether leaves or trunks, are very strange, just like the alien plants in the movie plot.

Of all the plants known on the island, the most famous one is Dracaena, which is very special. Its trunk is intertwined and grows upwards, and the top supports umbrella-shaped green leaves. More specifically, the mucus secreted by Dracaena is as thick as plasma. About the dragon blood tree, there is also a story circulating on this island: a long time ago, the dragon fought with the elephant here, and then the dragon was defeated, so a tree that would "bleed" grew here, hence the name "Dragon blood tree". In addition, the dragon blood tree mentioned above can only grow on the island, which is the only one in the world.

It is worth mentioning that there are many precious medicinal materials growing on the island, such as aloe, gentian, frankincense, Long Xianxiang, civet and so on. In the past, islanders lived by gathering herbs. Now Karath has become a world natural heritage. Every plant on the island is protected and islanders cannot destroy it at will. Now islanders mainly rely on tourism. The island is more than 2000 kilometers in circumference, so it has more than 2000 kilometers of coastline.

Yellow-and-white beaches, emerald-colored seawater and novel natural creatures all seem lonely and strange. Today, there are 43,000 islanders living on the island, and the scenery here is touched by foreign tourists, as if it really came to another planet.

tourist handbook

Visa:

You need to apply for a Yemeni visa to go to Karath. The prerequisite for applying for a visa is that the passport is valid for at least six months and has nothing to do with Israel. As far as I know, there are two methods at present:

Methods: Go to the Yemeni Embassy in Beijing in person.

Methods: Apply for an e-visa, and get a visa on arrival at Sana 'a airport.

E-visa fee is about $ 125.

First of all, pay tribute to the two elders who provided information!

I chose the second method: first apply for an electronic visa, and then apply for a visa on arrival at Sana 'a airport. At the same time, I also want to recommend my chosen agent. Although the price is slightly higher than other agents, it is very reliable, enthusiastic and professional.

The website of the agent I chose: contact me directly by email, and the reply is very detailed and quick.

Tip: China border inspection does not recognize Yemeni e-visa, so it is suggested to prepare a visa for other countries in your passport for border inspection. I chose to fly to Sana 'a via Dubai. Now that Dubai can leave the country with white stripes, this problem will be solved easily.

In addition, you need to pay a deposit to find an agent to book your itinerary, visa and air ticket. Yemen accepts Western Union remittance and Skrill.com remittance.

After arriving at Sana 'a Airport, you can see the "Visa" window on the left side of the arrival hall. Hand in the printed electronic visa and passport, and you can get the visa in 2 minutes.

International transportation:

There are many flights to Yemen, so you can choose by yourself. Dubai Airlines is also very cheap if it connects to Dubai. It should be noted that flydubai is in Terminal 2, so it is necessary to reserve more time to transfer to China Southern Airlines 1 Terminal or Emirates Terminal 3.

Sana 'a Airport is the best international airport I have ever seen. There is no distinction between international and domestic. Upon arrival, passengers on international flights go to the counter to line up and stamp, while passengers on domestic flights don't line up next to them and go out directly. The same is true of leaving a job. Passengers on international flights wait in the same terminal as passengers on domestic flights after stamping at the border inspection counter. When boarding the plane, a staff member will come and shout.

Domestic transportation:

However, Hadib Airport in Sana 'a, Karath Province has only 1/3/6 flights per week, and there are round-trip flights on the same day, with a stopover in the southern city of Mukala.

One of them is operated by Yemen Airlines every Monday, and each flight can carry about 200 people. Flying on Felix Airlines on Saturday can only take 80 or 90 people.

As there are few flights, you should book flights at least one month in advance! If you buy a ticket temporarily, you can only look at luck. Visual inspection is basically full.

The local round-trip ticket price from Sana 'a to Karas is about $400.

Power supply:

Only hotels and restaurants in Hardyber Town on the island have a stable power supply. Hardy suburban camp and Delisha beach camp also have several hours of power supply, which can be recharged at night, and the camp also has electric lighting. Other camps only have emergency lights and flashlights for lighting. If you want to camp and worry about not being able to charge, you can buy a car socket adapter in advance. There is no problem charging your camera phone in the car.

Tourist routes in Karath:

There are only three main roads on the island, with the capital Hadib as the center and divided into east, west and south lines. Detwah Lagoon, Dixam Nature Reserve and Araher Sand Mountain are the three essences of Suo Karath, but they are located in the west, south and east respectively, so it takes five days to see all the essences of Suo Karath (actually only four days after deducting the return flight). It takes seven days to visit all the scenic spots on the island.

It is recommended to have a seven-day island tour because it is rich in content.

Accommodation:

There are only four hotels in Hadib town on the island, and the best is SummerBay, which is also very expensive. The hotel has air conditioning, hot water and Internet. I have been to this hotel on purpose. In fact, it is equivalent to the domestic express hotel level, but it is still quite good in koala. The other three hotels have average conditions, similar to low-grade guest houses.

There are many camping areas on the island that provide cooking, showers, trees, and some even have wooden houses, beds and electricity. So camping on the island is highly recommended.

About diving:

Although the corals and fish schools in Suo Karath are very good, the light is blocked by the scenery and creatures on the shore here. Both Di Hamri Nature Reserve and Rush Coast can go deep diving and snorkeling, with good corals and many kinds of fish. Make an appointment in advance, tell the tour guide in advance, and make an appointment for bus transportation equipment in Hadib. The onshore launch price is $75, and the maximum depth is 1 1 m. Diving 105 dollars once, 18 meters. If you can dive freely to a depth of five or six meters, if you can actually see what you are diving, you don't have to dive.

Hamri Nature Reserve can rent snorkeling equipment and life jackets, but Rush doesn't.

Secondly, fishing and catching lobsters with fishermen in Qalansiya on the west coast is also a special experience. Although it is not a snorkeling area, the submarine cliff on the other side is another scene. If you are lucky and strong enough, you can swim with thousands of dolphins.

Eat:

There are only a few restaurants in Hardyber town on the island, and the taste is not good. But if you choose camping, the chef and tour guide driver in the camp will cook for you. The food is simple, every meal is seafood, only fish; The only vegetable is potatoes.

But don't worry, you can buy it from the market or fishermen at will, and the price is not expensive. Tour guides and camps are free of charge. A lamb weighing about 8 kg is about $20, a large plate of shrimp 10, and two big squid are equivalent to 30 RMB. As for lobster, although it is cheap, it is not recommended to buy it because catching lobster will cause great damage to the ecology, which will be introduced later.

As for fruits and vegetables, they are all luxuries on the island. The price of a big watermelon is similar to that of a crayfish. It is recommended to buy enough fruit in Sana 'a before going to the island.

The daily necessities and drinks on the island are not expensive, but after visiting so many places, I only found that there are shops in Hardyber Town, and there are no other places.

Other considerations:

About taking pictures: Yemen is a conservative Muslim country, and it is impolite to take pictures of women. Especially in Karath, it is forbidden to take pictures of women. At the same time, shoot as few military facilities as possible. Strangely, taking pictures in the village will be considered impolite.

Cell phone signal: You can basically receive cell phone signals in mainland Yemen. Unicom is not clear. Only Cautrat's domestic CDMA mobile phone and Cautrat's calling card can have a signal. You can't change your mobile phone card to an Apple phone.

Network: There is almost no wifi signal on the island. As far as I know, only the front desk of the travel agency and Xiawan Hotel have Internet access. So, be prepared for isolation.