Hiking in the Foret du Day & Dlibouti wrap-up

Devil's island in the Bay of Goubet

The next day we set out early and this time it was we and not the guide who decided what time we left. For about halfway we followed the same route that took us to Lake Assal and then we drove past massive lava flows that had flooded this region in 1978 until we reached a small decrepit signboard that pointed towards the a camp at the Foret du Day..

Driving through the lava flows

If you look at most of the pictures from Djibouti, you will notice that most of the country is barren desert land littered with volcanic rocks. To get to the forest we had to pass through several mountains that basically seemed like heaps of volcanic rocks piled on top of each other. About 15 minutes into the off road track we encountered a gazelle peeping at us from over the rocky surface.

The whole ride through the mountains was about 20 odd kilometers and about 12 kilometers into the journey our car got stuck. The loose rock, soil and steep climb was too much for our 4WD to handle because our vehicle was essential a city 4WD and not a real off road one. It did not help that Mehdi who was the owner and driver of the car was not experienced in driving in these terrains.

The Goda mountains

Dorcas Gazelle...i suspect since this was the closest match i found on the web

After trying and failing several times, I suggested that he and his cousin (who was riding with him for company) return back to the nearest village while we hike the mountains to the Foret du Day. We had no idea how far the forest was but the though was let’s just go as far as we can go and if we feel we can’t make it that far then we can make an executive decision to return back.

We continued to hike and passed some remote hamlets with the unique looking huts and camel herders. I remember Mike suggesting at one point “how sinned the land is” basically because the land looked so unproductive and it was a wonder how some of these normads were making a living in the remote corner of the world.

We walked through a couple mountain passes and then a few for a good couple hours not seeing any vehicles going the way we wanted to go so we continued to walk rather than hitch a ride. At one point with the landscape barely changing, I wondered if this forest really existed or was it just a mythic forest because I just did not see any sign of any life on that land let along a forest.

Rugged mountain path



Afar normad

Then finally we saw a jeep coming in the opposite direction and we waved it to ask how far the village of Day was and the signs were pretty ominous when the driver stretched his hands to suggest that it was a long way away. At this point I was in a quandary, should we return back not knowing how far the forest was or, to continue walking and take the chance to reach this seemingly mythical place. I was even mentally preparing myself to seek shelter in one of the hamlets if we don’t get there and the sun sets.

A further thirty or so minutes and suddenly out of nowhere the same jeep that had passed us came back and asked us to jump in. Evidently they were the military patrolling that region of Djibouti and offered us the ride. I can’t explain how thrilled we were to get the ride from them. The driver dropped us off at one of the tourist camps where we had a sumptuous meal and hot tea to warm us from the chilly high altitude winds before heading to the Foret du Day reserve to hike.

Hiking through these mountains was a serene experience

A typical normadic hut

The forest seemed as mysterious as the way coming there because it looked so totally out of place in Djibouti and there seemed no plausible reason for this forest to exist. I guess perhaps the high altitude brings cool moist air to this region. Regardless, the forest looks like it is dying as most of the trees especially surrounding the outer edge of the forest were barren without any leaves. Mike who is in the Environmental management field hypothesized that it could be change in the weather pattern here that might be causing it. We encountered a family of baboons, several hornbills and an out of place looking camel in the forest.

After wandering around in the forest for a while it was time to head back and as it was already around 4pm with just a couple hours of sunlight for us to make it back. If we were to walk there was no way for us to make it back before nightfall so we were hoping to catch a ride back but there was not a single vehicle that had passed that way for hours so our only bet was going to the military base and asking them for help.

A normadic hamlet along the way

Upon getting there we were asked to wait outside while the guard went in and checked inside. He came back with the chief and after we mentioned our predicament the chief agreed to help us but only after 20 or so minutes when they get done with their prayer. As we sat outside, i knew that we had solved one part of the equation, i.e. getting a ride back to the place where we left our vehicle. The second part of the equation was that the driver of our vehicle should be waiting for us when we get back. We were especially nervous since we had just met the driver the previous night and we had left him there for more than 6 hours. There was the very real possibility that he simply could have gotten tired of waiting for us and returned back to Djibouti city.

An unusual sight of a camel in the forest

Sitting in the jeep passing through this imposing terrain, the though did cross my mind that if the driver did in fact leave us we may have to spend the night in some village and then somehow find a ride back to Djibouti the next day in time to catch the flight to by around noon.

Foret du Day

As we neared the place where our vehicle was stuck we did not see any signs of our vehicle so it looked more ominous but I remember telling the driver to wait for us at the nearby village a little further down the mountain slope.

The dying forest

Needless to say, I did have a silent prayer as we approached the village and no kidding…but when I saw a maroon colored patch in the distance heaved a huge sigh of relief.

Mehdi, the good man that he was, was waiting for us the whole time. He had in fact found a long lost friend in the village with which he went to school and the villagers there had helped him to get his car down, and got some desperately needed fuel and food as well.

A local species of hornbill

We thanked everybody including the villages and especially the military guys who we later learnt were the national guard of the President of Djibouti. It’s then when it all came together… a very posh house in the village of Day where everything else was basic, a military outpost in this remote part of the country.

On our way back we saw a few more gazelles and I caught sight my last sunset in Djibouti as we drove around the lava flows around the Devil’s Island.

From left, member of the National Guard, Me, Mehdi and Mike

My final take in Djibouti…well, it is a small country and fits in a similar size to that of Swaziland and Comoros but there is so much more to do here if one has access to a 4WD.

The city of Djibouti has such a cosmopolitan feel to it with its Muslim Afar and Somali tribes, French legionnaires, occasional American military men, Japanese and Spanish sailors, Ethiopian traders, and a few Indian merchants. The interiors of the country seem to be trapped in a different period where its still possible to see the odd normad with his camels

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this country is that it sits at that point of earth which will split and create a new sea and a new continent in about a million year. I won’t be there to see it happen but I am glad to have traversed this land in my lifetime nonetheless.