Eritrea's desert island paradiseEritrea's desert island paradise
October 24 2004 at 01:00PM
Dahlak Islands, Eritrea - Glistening in the turquoise waters of the Red Sea, Eritrea's Dahlak Islands are a hidden paradise of white sands and coral reefs, so far known only to a select handful of visitors.
Last year, no more than 3 000 people visited the archipelago of 350 islets, a fraction of the 80 000 tourists who travel to the Horn of Africa nation annually, according to the Eritrean tourism ministry.
From the capital Asmara, a two-hour drive leads to the port of Massawa, where shuttle boats ferry visitors, most of them backpackers and expatriates based in Asmara, to the Dahlak Islands.
The journey to Massawa winds along 115 kilometres of dramatic mountain landscape, on roads cut up to 2 400 metres high.
Monkeys, camels and cows jostle for attention on the roadside, as well as the occasional band of stern-looking soldiers or gaggle of village children.
From the port, a return trip to the islands costs €60 on a shuttle boat, or double that on board a converted traditional fishing boat, or "sambuk". Allow an extra 16 euros per head for the three-day travel permit for the desert islands.
On board, the sambuk crew trail a few lines out the back to pluck dinner out of the rich Red Sea waters, as dolphins frolic alongside the hull. A line tugs suddenly and the pilot cuts the engine to haul in a barracuda.
Upon arrival, the group sets up camp and gets a fire going to grill the day's catch. Some people set up tents while others simply lie back under under the stars - the nights here are warm all year round, with no light pollution.
Off-shore from the island, pristine coral reefs home to dozens of species of fish hundreds make for a diver's paradise to explore for the next few sayd.
Tourists have largely stayed away from Eritrea due to the tense political climate in the region.
Eritrea fought a border war with Ethiopia 1998-2000 war and since then plans to return the Horn of Africa to a durable peace have stalled, with Addis Ababa rejecting an independent commission ruling on the border demarcation last year.
Today, the majority of visitors to Eritrea come from Italy, the country's former colonial ruler, as well as from Germany which is home to a large Eritrean community.
Although Asmara is keen to see greater numbers of visitors, with the Dahlak Islands an obvious tourist magnet, the government is wary of the environmental dangers of mass tourism.
"Our policy is not one of mass tourism, people need to look after our ecosystem," said the head of tourism promotion at the ministry, Hagos Woldu.
"We will not build anything on the islands that are uninhabited," he added - which would rule out development on all but a dozen of the isles.