Coming from hot and arid Berbera the climb into the Golis Mountains starts after some 46 km at the village of Laaleys.

The landscape then quickly becomes greener and, via a series of hairpin bends, the Sheikh pass is reached at about 1490 m above sea level.

[5] Several sources indicate that Sheikh is said to contain old British colonial buildings and temple ruins similar to those on the Deccan Plateau in India.

[7] In practice and on the internet, there is nothing of historical buildings or ruins to be found, and modern guidebooks describe the city as humdrum: mundane, boring.

Several senior politicians were educated here, including two former Somaliland presidents, Ahmed Silanyo and Ibrahim Egal.

[9][10][11] Sheikh is primarily inhabited by people from the Isamusa ethnic group, with the clan eponyms of sub-divisions of Mohammed Isa.

Temperature variation is limited; the coldest month is January (average 14.4 °C); the warmest June (22.5 °C).

April - May is the first rainy season (the so-called Gu rains) and these are also the two wettest months in which about 70mm falls.