Swimming the lagoons of Detwah

Detwah Lagoon is the swim that everyone who comes to Socotra talks about afterwards. A shallow tongue of turquoise water separated from the open sea by a narrow sandbar, protected from the Khareef monsoon by the headland above Qalansiyah.

When to go

The lagoon is swimmable year-round, but the best conditions are October through April, when the Indian Ocean trades have died down and the water is calm and clear. During the Khareef (June–September) the swell outside can make the approach uncomfortable and visibility drops.

What to bring

Water shoes (the bottom is sandy but the entry rocks are sharp)
Reef-safe sunscreen
Snorkel and mask if you want to look at the fish — the lagoon edge has a modest but intact reef
A towel and something warm for the return drive; the plateau road is cool in the morning

What to expect

The water temperature sits between 26°C and 30°C depending on the season. Depth in the main body of the lagoon is one to two metres. You can walk across in chest-deep water or swim the length in about twenty minutes at a gentle pace.

The colour is the thing. No photograph does it justice — the combination of white sand, shallow depth, and the quality of light at that latitude produces a turquoise that belongs in a different part of the spectrum from the sea outside.