A flat, scrubby island just west of Dahlak Kebir, Nokra is mostly visited for its unsettling history. The ruined buildings of the former prison and naval base still stand — concrete cell blocks, a half-sunken Soviet pier, rusting equipment scattered across the coral. Boat crews can usually arrange to land for an hour or so to walk among the ruins.
The waters around Nokra are excellent for diving: the wrecks of small Ethiopian patrol boats sunk during the war lie in shallow water, now thickly colonised by coral and shoals of reef fish. It's a strange combination — the political weight of the place above the surface, the easy beauty of the reef below.