Spice land of Africa bursting with culture and history.
Seemingly at odds with its idyllic geography of white-sand beaches with palms swaying lazily in the sea breeze. Together this makes Zanzibar a fabulous place to explore as well as a dream to relax and unwind. Zanzibar’s coastline offers some of the best beaches in the world, but sand and surf vary depending on what side of the island you’re on. On the east coast, waves break over coral reefs and sand bars offshore, and low tide reveals small pools of starfish, small minnows, and anemones. Up north, ocean swimming is much less susceptible to the tides, and smooth beaches and white sand make for dazzling days in the sun.
What Zanzibar Island offers?
Zanzibar is as exotic as it sounds, as romantic as legend makes it, as intriguing as its past and as colorful as it promises to be. There are many interesting places on the island.
Mtoni Palace: It is built in the 19th century by an Arab merchant to accommodate 1000 people. The Persian Battis of Kidehi are remarkably well preserved domed bathhouses with deep stone baths. The Jozani Natural Forest Reserve is located in the central east region of Zanzibar Island and is home to the rare Red Colobus Monkey found mostly in Zanzibar.
Pemba Island: Is the greenest of the islands of Zanzibar and actually looks like a floating forest; so lush is the vegetation on it. The Omanis established the spice plantations on Pemba and the islands produce 80% of the cloves grown in Zanzibar. Pemba or the ‘Garden of God’ has three main towns, Wete, Mkoani and Chake Chake.
Mafia Island: This is lie 160 km to the south of the main island and is celebrated as the perfect place for big game fishermen to match wits with magnificent specimens of kingfish, marlin, sailfish and rock cod. Scuba divers love to frolic in its clear waters that are home to a rich variety of marine life including the Dugong and giant turtles. Prison Island or Chumbe Island: It is fringed with a beautiful coral reef, ideal for snorkeling and a lovely beach, tailor-made for a lazy holiday in the sun.
Stone Town: If Zanzibar Town is the archipelago’s heart, Stone Town is its soul. It’s magical jumble of cobbled alleyways make it easy to spend days wandering around and getting lost – although you can’t get lost for long because, sooner or later, you’ll end up on either the seafront or Creek Rd.
Pemba: Unlike flat, sandy Zanzibar, Pemba’s terrain is hilly, fertile and lushly vegetated. In the days of the Arab traders it was even referred to as ‘al Khuthera’ or ‘the Green Island’. The healthy coral reefs, the steeply dropping walls of the Pemba Channel and an abundance of fish provide world-class diving: the best in East Africa. Unlike Zanzibar, where tourist infrastructure is well developed, Pemba is very much a backwater.
Zanzibar National Museum of History & Culture: One of the most prominent buildings in the old Stone Town is the elegant Beit el-Ajaib, now home to the Zanzibar National Museum of History & Culture. It’s also one of the largest structures in Zanzibar. It was built in 1883 by Sultan Barghash (r 1870–88) as a ceremonial palace.
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