Shimbiris Mountain

Mount Shimbiris, also known as Mount Surud Cad, is Somalia's highest mountain. It rises 8,070 feet above sea level. It is in the Sanaag region of northern Somalia, in the Al Madow mountain range. The often-quoted elevation of 2,416 meters (7,927 feet) is slightly low, according to SRTM data.

Its name literally translates as "Abode of Birds," alluding to the avian riches of the Doallo Forest on its eastern slopes, and it is also known locally as Surad Cad or Bird Biris. The mountain is historically significant as the site of a fort erected by early twentieth-century resistance leader Sayid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan and unsuccessfully attacked by British troops in 1914 and 1916 before the Mad Mullah's death in 1920. Despite being the highest point in Somalia, Shimbiris is not a mountain in the traditional sense, but rather a huge hill positioned along a high escarpment that has numerous additional summits that exceed the 2.200m threshold.

Besides, the road up the mountain is quite dangerous and there is no way to get there by car or other vehicles. Nevertheless, visitors can spend the night in the mountains with a tent.

Location: Sanaag region of northern Somaliland
Elevation: 2,460 m (8,070 ft)