Laas Geel is the reason most independent travellers make the trip. These rock shelters about 55km northeast of Hargeisa contain some of the oldest and best-preserved cave paintings in Africa — vivid depictions of cattle, humans, and wild animals dating back roughly 9,000 to 11,000 years. The colours are extraordinary given the age. You need a vehicle and a local guide to get there; the last stretch requires 4WD.
Berbera is the main port city, a two-to-three hour drive from Hargeisa on a decent tarmac road. The beaches along the Gulf of Aden are long, clean, and almost entirely empty. The old town retains Ottoman-era architecture mixed with British colonial remnants. In summer the heat here is brutal; come between November and March.
Hargeisa itself rewards a day or two. The MiG fighter jet on a plinth in the city centre — mounted as a monument to the air force that bombed its own people — is one of the more sobering war memorials you'll encounter anywhere. The main market is large and chaotic, good for fresh qat, spices, and cheap Somali textiles. The Cultural Museum gives context to the civil war and Somaliland's independence story.
Sheikh is a small town in the Sahil highlands, cooler than the coast, with British-era buildings and good walking country nearby. It's a natural stop between Hargeisa and Berbera.
Saylac (Zeila), near the Djibouti border, is a crumbling, historically rich port town with Ottoman ruins, offshore islands, and coral reefs. Getting there requires a long, rough drive, but it's one of the more atmospheric spots in the country for those willing to put in the effort.