Somalia

Visited: March 2023, October 2025

Duration of visit: 11 days

Capital city: Mogadishu (Federal Republic of Somalia), Hargeisa (Somaliland)

Population: Somalia 21.3 million (2025), Somaliland 6.2 million (2023)

Somalia travel blog reading time: 3 minutes

• Long drive from the border of Djibouti to Hargeisa.
• The capital Hargeisa with a positive energy and the vibrance of never-ending market.
• Paying in cash, while everybody else uses a mobile payment system.
• Visiting rock art and caves Laas Geel.
• Berbera – the city of barber shops, fish distributers, a center of maritime trade, USSR naval base and an emergency landing strip for US space shuttle program.
• A business visit to Mogadishu within a heavily secured area, offering limited opportunities to explore the city.

One of the most bizarre countries, where human values, development and respect have completely failed. Constant disputes, wars and conflicts have divided the impoverished country into two parts, and most people are struggling to survive.

The country is divided into two self-governing entities that could not be more different. Yet, they share certain things in common: the effort to maintain general security over its territory, provide food and basic opportunities to live.

I could say that Somaliland has been more successful at least in ensuring security and establishing basic infrastructure, while the Federal Republic of Somalia remains in semi-warlike state, functioning under unconventional rules and relying on the presence of international peacekeeping forces. The prolonged war with Al Shabab has devastated the country and left deep, lasting consequences.

I didn’t have many expectations before visiting Somalia. It’s hard to talk about places to visit or things to do in Mogadishu while the city’s instability remains under such pressure. If Somaliland is rather safe and without main conflicts in most of the territories, visiting Mogadishu was a completely different experience. Although I felt safe and calm, the news indicates the constant outbreaks of violence carried out by Al-Shabaab.

The capital of Somalia is a very unconventional city with limited access for foreign visitors. Various Green Zones are heavily guarded, yet I couldn’t escape the constant feeling of danger and tension that was always present.

Tourism is not a priority and foreign visitors are mostly people coming for business, foreign refugees searching for peace or Somaliland diaspora to gather with the family.

In Somaliland, most of the infrastructure is not only old, but in rudimentary conditions, where even a hard-core backpacker (as I consider myself) has been struggling to find basic sanitary standards and stay healthy.

People are friendly, saying hello or trying to use the little English they know to wish a warm welcome to any foreigner. They wondered, why would I arrive as a backpacker, taking photos and admiring historical buildings or the colorful displays of goods in a local market.