“My heart it skips a beat when I behold” – Noel Gallagher.
I didn’t have any wild dreams, demands or desires when I arrived at dawn into the lesser cared capital city of Hargeisa. This is the capital of Somaliland. It was a visa struggle to even get here – horrific times for money, time wasting and stress that I am getting way too old for. Perhaps I finally imagined how away teams felt at Old Trafford in the 1990s when Alex Ferguson begged for extra time…
I finally got my Somaliland visa in Djibouti. I wasn’t particularly chirpy as usual, the travel buzz had been sucked out of me on these these 2 Africa trips (both included at least 2 flight cancellations and shedding £2000 more than anticipated. Ugly shit I can’t be bothered with any more.
Here in Hargeisa, my armed escort came at a price, but here I was. All alone in Hargeisa – the first tourist of 2026 to cross the border from Djibouti into Somaliland.
While I did a side trip to Las Geel, I based myself in Hargeisa and you’ll need an armed guard and LOTS of money for touring this country, Somaliland.
Getting To Hargeisa
My journey to Hargeisa was long, bumpy, arduous and actually uninspiring. I started in a border town called Loyaada / Lowyacadde. Your inspiration is ripped out of your soul as soon as money gimps and capitalists intervene. Somaliland is a capitalist thief, certainly an ironic far cry from the media excrement on it. It is my most expensive 4 days of life ever and so I won’t be back.
But I still got there, completely uninspired compared to my more recent Africa adventures to Mayotte, Zanzibar, Niger, Burkina Faso and Boali Falls in Central African Republic – which was amazing.
What / Where Is Somaliland?
The short answer is it is a country in East Africa, on the horn of Africa. But it is more complicated than that and for sure it will join my nutspacking through wacaday republics. Somaliland is a self-declared republic, located in northwestern Somalia. It proclaimed independence in 1991 after Somalia’s civil war, but remains internationally unrecognized by most, but of course Don’t Stop Living recognises it.
Somaliland has its own government, constitution, currency, visa, border, national football stadium and security forces, and has enjoyed relative stability compared with southern Somalia. Its capital is Hargeisa, and its population is mainly Somali. The region seeks international recognition while maintaining democratic elections, clan-based reconciliation, and growing trade through the port of Berbera. It borders Djibouti, Puntland, Ethiopia, and the Gulf of Aden, emphasizing strategic regional importance today broadly.
What Is Puntland?
Then there is the enigma of the next-door neighbour, which is called Puntland and I haven’t officially backpacked in, in fact I don’t even know how to get a visa for it! Puntland is newer than Somaliland – it is an autonomous state in northeastern Somalia, established in 1998 following the collapse of Somalia’s central government. Unlike Somaliland, Puntland does not seek complete independence, instead supporting a federal Somali state though it does have its own flag and borders.
Puntland has its own president, parliament, security forces, and administrative system, with its capital in Garowe. The region includes important coastal cities such as Bosaso, a major port on the Gulf of Aden. Puntland has played a key role in counter-piracy efforts, regional security, trade, and political stabilization within Somalia. I haven’t been, but that seems like another interesting place, maybe later in life when African political stuff isn’t so cumbersome as my last 3 trips there.
What Is Somalia?
Then is the big enigma – what is Somalia? It is the main part of Somalia, whose capital is Mogadishu, and is the southern part. Although officially by UN and FIFA terms I was in “their Somalia”, the truth is far from that. Somalia is a country in the Horn of Africa that feels they swallow Puntland and Somaliland, therefore they think they are bordered by Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, and the Indian Ocean. It has a long coastline, a largely Somali-speaking population, and a strong clan-based society.
After the collapse of its central government in 1991, Somalia has experienced decades of conflict and instability, hence why Somaliland and Puntland left its main part. In recent years, it has operated as a federal republic with gradual political rebuilding, ongoing security challenges, and an economy based on livestock, trade, remittances, and agriculture. I backpacked North Korea with Somalia dancer, The Amazing Marawa.
And so to Hargeisa…
Hargeisa is the capital city of Somaliland. It is massive, housing over 1 million people.
Here are my quick fire top 5 sights. I stayed in 3 different hotels here in Hargeisa (Jees Hotel, Adams Inn Hotel, Oriental Hotel), will review them all separately.
1.Somaliland National Football Stadium.
You knew it and so did I. It is rarely possible for me to backpack a country without at least visiting a football stadium. From my first 100 countries, I have at least one football memory. Somaliland’s first ever match was in 2002, here at Hargeisa Stadium, they lost 2-1 at home to Ethiopia in this exact stadium.
| First international | |
|---|---|
 Somaliland 1–2 Ethiopia  (Hargeisa, Somaliland; 6 November 2002) |
Here, I was knock knock knocking on a stadium door…
The good news is I was at Somaliland’s National Football Stadium. The bad news is that is was closed, boarded up, out of bounds. I couldn’t get inside. That was not even fake news. We scaled the perimeter in our Jeep and the only 2 entrances were bang bang shut. It looked like it hadn’t been open in months…
2.Camel Market/Livestock Market.
Being on the horn of Africa, of course Somaliland is not far from the Sahara Desert, nor the Middle East so camels are prevalent. Indeed we chased a few on route to Las Geel. I have been to endless camel and livestock markets on my trips. Just another one, really, nothing special here. If you have $1000 US you can buy a camel.
3.Aeroplane Memorial.
Bang downtown and you will encounter the important, independence war memorial.
The memorial features a real MiG-17 fighter jet mounted on a tall pedestal. This jet was part of the Somali Air Force that carried out aerial bombardments of Hargeisa in the late 1980s during the Somali Civil War.
The memorial stands as both a remembrance of the victims and a symbol of resilience and Somaliland’s struggle for independence and peace. Independence was gained in May 1991.
4.Mosque Loyalty.
I didn’t go inside any Mosques in Somaliland but they are everywhere and what is particularly impressive is the noise that echoes around the city on Call To Prayer. Check my videos at the bottom of the post for my Somaliland videos.
5.Viewpoint Over The City.
I often love to get a view overlooking the city. Here, I ended up staying at the excellent Adams Inn Hotel, and they put me on the second floor, so the balcony outside my room already had an epic city viewpoint. Both at dusk and dawn, the views were stunning, calm, peaceful and full of the sounds of the Call To Prayer filling the air. It reminded me of Wadi Musa in Jordan.
And with all that, without further ado, my wandering backpack arrived at Hargeisa Airport 4 hours early for my flight. Get me out of here.
Here are some videos I made when backpacking Hargeisa in Somaliland:
