Tanzania reizen | Zanzibar | Unguja | Stone Town
The islands of Tanzania offer stunning beaches and unparalleled diving opportunities. However, they also have much more in store for inquisitive travellers than beautiful coral reefs. Visit the islands of Unguja and Pemba in the Zanzibar Archipelago, where there is more on offer than fish and coral reefs, or choose Mafia Island, considered to be one of the best diving destinations on the East African coast.
You can hop on a ferry from the port at Dar Es Salaam and travel to Unguja in the Zanzibar Archipelago. Don't forget to glance back at the old colonial buildings on your crossing though, and imagine how it must have looked 150 years ago...
Mafia Island and the spice-producing archipelago of Zanzibar form the ‘Spice Islands'. The Zanzibar Archipelago comprises of several small islands and two large ones: Unguja and Pemba. Both of these islands are popular beach destinations and have excellent diving opportunities.
The local people always refer to Unguja as Zanzibar and there is something almost dreamlike about the coastline that runs along this stretch of land. Time seems to have stood still in the countless fishing villages here and Unguja has no less than thirty stunning beaches. The white sand on the northern and north-eastern beaches is so fine that it squeaks between your toes. One of the most beautiful beaches is Nungwi at the northern tip of the island, around which the coast disappears and is replaced by waves that gently wash the shore. Snorkellers can expect to discover brightly coloured coral and an opulent variety of fish. Mnemba Island, which is just off the coast, has received international acclaim for its diving and snorkelling opportunities.
Yet Unguja is not only an ideal beach and diving destination, it also oozes cultural wealth: ruins of palaces, forts, mosques and graves dating from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries.
Zanzibar has been on the east-west trade route since the Phoenician era and trade in spices has taken place on Unguja since time immemorial. Unfortunately, however, another part of the earnings was once made in the slave trade. The local people escaped dubious careers as slaves by working together with the dealers. This is also where people such as David Livingstone started campaigns to abolish slave trade. In the Slave Museum in Stone Town, you can see the miserable circumstances in which slaves awaited their embarkation.
Stone Town, an ancient suburb in the capital of Zanzibar Town, is a charming example of the Swahili trade cities along the East African coast. Through the ages, the individual elements of African, Indian, Arabic and European cultures have converge and blended. The centuries-old trade relations between Asia and Africa are evident in the architecture and the urban structure of Stone Town, which fortunately is still in tact. This was also the reason why UNESCO added Stone Town to the World Heritage List.
But this does make it an open air museum! It's wonderful to wander through the maze of narrow windy streets and under the eaves and Arabian balconies, or to dine in one of the many rooftop restaurants. You might also like to try a range of local delicacies on the market in front of the House of Wonders, which was developed by a Scotsman for a Sultan and is the island's most beautiful building. And, of course, there are also plenty of spices on sale in the narrow streets or the road that leads to the beach. These stalls are a wonderful sight, which fill the air with amazing aromas.
The Arabs named Pemba 'the green island' and with the exception of a strip of land in the east, the hilly island of Pemba lives up to this reference to extreme fertility. In the 18th century, the sultan of Oman used the money that was made from the clove plantations and spice fields to conduct business from Zanzibar and increase his local sphere of influence. Spices such as cinnamon and cardamom are grown to this day on Pemba, as are rice, bananas, mangos, coconuts, cassava and red beans. There are also an estimated three million clove trees, which you can smell for miles around.
There is something magical about the island, which is perhaps owing to its rich tradition of voodoo. When British writer Evelyn Waugh visited the island at the beginning of the 20th century, he wrote about the juju traditions of medicine and magic. He claimed that medicine men from as far away as Haiti visited the island to learn about the secrets of voodoo.
Aside from this, Pemba also attracts an increasing number of tourists who find Unguja too busy for their liking. This peaceful island is a fantastic honeymoon destination, one of several uninhabited islands along an unspoilt coast, a paradise of sandy beaches lined with coconut trees and a place where you can experience the superb diving opportunities that the Pemba Canal along the west coast has in store. Other diving locations include Fundu Reef, Kokota Reef, Manta Point, Misali Island and Njao Gap. See how many exquisite fish you can spot swimming in the crystalline waters among the various different coral...
You can also go fishing in the Pemba Channel for different types of marlin, sword fish or tuna.
For those who prefer to keep their feet dry, the various ruins on the islands are well worth a visit, such as a fifteenth-century palace and an eleventh-century Swahili settlement; or perhaps an excursion to one of the island's spice plantations appeals to you more.
Mafia Island is a friendly island with a relaxed atmosphere. It is the main island of the Mafia Archipelago and it answers perfectly to how we imagine the ideal Bounty Island to be. Because there are only two lodges of any significance, this secluded hideaway is the perfect place to unwind, relax and reflect on the experiences you have had on the mainland. Mafia Island is also one of the best diving locations in the Indian Ocean. In short, this is an ideal place for honeymooners.
The name Mafia derives either from the Arabic word 'morfiyeh', meaning archipelago, or from 'mahali pa afya', which is Ki-Swahili for ‘healthy dwelling-place'.
Although there is a small amount of agriculture, Mafia Island's 40,000 inhabitants live primarily from the fish they catch. For many centuries, Mafia Island occupied a key position on the East-African trade routes, with ships from Persia frequently mooring here.
During WWI, the British Royal Air Force used the island as a base during their hunt for the German navy's light cruiser Königsberg, which had been firing at the British fleet from a hiding place in the Rufiji Delta. The ship was discovered in July 1915 by the South African elephant hunter Pieter Pretorius and subsequently bombed.
The ecosystem around Mafia Island resulted in it being declared as a Marine Park in 1995. More than 400 fish species swim in these waters and some of the uninhabitated islands are breeding grounds for giant turtles. Mafia Island is considered to be one of the best diving destinations on the East African coast. There are six important diving locations which are exploited by the lodges, in addition to a number of more modest alternatives that you can travel to at your own pace in a rented dhow (a traditional fishing boat with sails). The best period for diving is between October and the end of March. You will also have the opportunity to go on fishing trips, or day excursions in dhows to other islands in the archipelago. Chole Island is the only other inhabited island. You can a follow a route around this island that takes you past Persian ruins and a market, and provides you with the opportunity to meet the friendly locals.
