Trip to Somalia, Puntland Region, the Remote Horn of Africa / 8 days in January 2027 (exploration)

Trip to Somalia to explore Puntland, the horn of Africa.

Trip to Somalia, specifically to Puntland, an autonomous region located in the northeast of the country, in the very Horn of Africa. In Kumakonda we embark again on a journey of exploration to travel in some depth the Horn of Africa. A region of Somalia that already sounds interesting on the map, and which we think offers the best of all possible routes in Somalia. Will you join us on our journey through Puntland?

Exploration trip to Puntland

What does exploratory travel mean? Following our scouting trip in October 2025, we at Kumakonda have started offering our trips to this eastern region of Africa for the first time in 2026. This trip to Puntland will be new to us in every way so it is important to manage expectations wisely. This geographical point on the map, which we will be traveling through on this trip is particularly appealing to us and we think it will be a very interesting trip to an emblematic place in Africa.

Approximate route on this trip to Puntland in Somalia

• Day 1: Arrival in Garowe on Ethiopian Airlines or via a domestic flight from Mogadishu. Overnight in Garowe.
• Day 2: Route to Eyl on the coast, overnight in Ely
• Day 3: Visit Eyl and route to Hafun, night in Hafun
• Day 4: Visit Hafun and overnight in Bargal
• Day 5: Visit Cape Guardafui and overnight in Bargal
• Day 6: Long route by road to Bosaso, overnight in Bosaso
• Day 7: Visiting day in Bosaso
• Day 8: End of trip and departure with Ethiopians Airlines international flight.

Highlights of the trip to the Horn of Africa

In this suggestive tour of the Horn of Africa we will stop in significant places that attract our attention such as the easternmost points of Africa, the city of pirates, the fishing town of Bargal and other interesting places like Bosaso and Garowe, capital of Puntland. We also think that the scenery will undoubtedly be spectacular.

Corporal Guardafui and the lighthouse of Francesco Crispi (the lighthouse of Fascism)

Cape Guardafui, the easternmost point of Africa along with Cape Hafun, is of great historical importance and has been a crucial point for navigation for centuries.

The Francesco Crispi lighthouse, also known at the time as the lighthouse of fascism, is named after the Italian statesman Francesco Crispi. The lighthouse serves as a navigational aid for maritime traffic in the region and marks the easternmost point of the African coast. This lighthouse was built during the Italian colonial period. It is an important landmark for mariners and ships navigating the waters off the Somali coast, as it helps ensure safe passage“From today, Capo Guardafui, with its new Francesco Crispi lighthouse, will be the advanced sentinel of Italian civilization on the vital communication route between the Asian and African seas, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.”

Corporal Hafun (Dante) and his former salt factory

Hafun, the former Dante in colonial times, is the easternmost point of the African continent. There we will visit the remains of what was once the largest salt processing company in the world. Here, in 1930, an Italian company invested capital to exploit salt deposits.

The “Hafun Salt Works” was founded and became the world’s leading sea salt production plant
in the 1930s. Between 1933 and 1934, the Hafun salt works produced over 200,000 metric tons of salt, most of which was exported to the Far East. It was Somalia’s second most important export product after bananas. Source, photos of the time and full article here.

Bargal, an important fishing village

Bargal is an important port and center of fishing activities and from what we can imagine, the visit of the market and the port will be spectacular.

Eyl, the city of pirates

Eyl is often referred to as the “pirate city” due to its historical association with piracy in the region. Eyl rose to fame in the late 2000s when piracy exploded off the coast of Somalia, attracting international attention. The city’s geography and proximity to busy shipping lanes made it a convenient base for pirates to launch attacks on commercial vessels.

Garowe and Bosaso, the large populations of Puntland

Garowe is the capital of the autonomous region of Puntland and will be our entry point on this trip to Somalia. Bosaso