Alula (Somali: Caluula, Arabic: علولة), also spelled Aluula, is a coastal town in the northeastern Ra'as Aseir region and is part of the autonomous state of Puntland, on the coast of the Guardafui Channel.
Alula is located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of Cape Guardafui, at the extremity of the Horn of Africa.
Adjacent to Alula is a shallow lagoon lined by mangrove bushes, which appears to correspond with the "large laurel-grove called Acannae" also described by the Periplus.
[7] On the coastal plain 20 km to Alula's east are ruins of an ancient monument in a platform style.
The structure is formed by a rectangular drystone wall that is low in height; the space in between is filled with rubble and manually covered with small stones.
[6] Legendary Arab explorer Ahmad ibn Mājid wrote of Alula and a few other notable ports and landmarks of the northern Somali coast, including Berbera, Siyara, Heis, and Zeila with its Archipelago, Ruguda, Maydh, El-Sheikh and El-Darad .
On April 8, 2013, the Puntland government announced the creation of a new region coextensive with Cape Guardafui named Gardafu.