10 Best Places to Visit in Zanzibar Island

Jozani ForestThe Jozani Forest is a conservation area established in the 1960s in the core of Zanzibar Island. Covering an area of 50 square kilometers, this reserve also includes a section of the Jozani Chwaka National Park and was set up for the conservation of the kirk’s red colobus monkey, a beautiful and rare primate. The forest is a great place to encounter many indigenous varieties of flora and fauna, including the Zanzibari Red Colobus Monkey; unique to Unguja this species of wild monkey live on despite the best efforts of the former British rulers to bring it to extinction.

Stone Town

Stone Town is the old city and cultural heart of Zanzibar, little changed in the last 200 years. It is a place of winding alleys, bustling bazaars, mosques and grand Arab houses whose original owners vied with each other over the extravagance of their dwellings. Places to Visit in stone town are : The Old Dispensary, The market, Livingstone’s House, The Peace Memorial Museum, The House of Wonders, The Arab Fort and lots more.

Prison Island

Changuu Island (also known as Kibandiko, Prison or Quarantine Island) is a small island 5.6 km north-west of Stone Town, Unguja, Zanzibar. visit the tortoise sanctuary, which contains a large colony of giant tortoise imported from the Seychelles in the late 19th century. The average weight of these creatures is 200 kg, and many of them are said to be over 150 years old. There will be a chance to touch the tortoise and take photos. The island is also a home to a colony of beautiful peacocks.

Spice Markets

Even those people who've only dreamed of visiting Zanzibar have usually heard its nickname 'The Spice Island'. Sooner or later every visitor to Zanzibar will be offered a 'spice tour' - a trip to the farmlands just outside Stone Town to see aromatic plants and herbs growing wild or cultivated in kitchen gardens. Guides take you on a walking tour of the villages and plantations at Kizimbani or Kindichi, picking bunches of leaves, fruit and twigs from bushes and inviting you to smell or taste them to guess what they are.

House of WondersThe House of Wonders or Palace of Wonders (in Arabic: Beit-al-Ajaib) is a landmark building in Stone Town, Zanzibar. It is the largest and tallest building of Stone Town and occupies a prominent place facing the Forodhani Gardens on the old town's seafront, in Mizingani Road. It was inaugurated in the early 1800s has permanent exhibits on aspects of the Swahili and Zanzibari culture as well as the East African environment.

Dolphin Tours

The most popular dolphin spotting location in Zanzibar is in Kizimkazi village located on the Southern coast of Zanzibar Island where you can see both bottle-nose and humpback dolphins. The shallow coastal waters around Kizimkazi are favorite hangout for dolphins. Best time for the Dolphin tour is, very early in the morning!The dolphin trip can be combined with Jozani Forest, as the forest is on the way to Kizimkazi.

Old FortThe Old Fort is one of the prominent visitor attractions in Stone Town, and its courtyard as been adapted to serve as a cultural center with curio shops selling tourist-oriented merchandise such as tingatinga paintings; it also has an open-air amphitheater where live dance and music shows are held most evenings, a restaurant, and a tourist information desk. It is also the main venue used for large events such as the Festival of the Dhow Countries (also known as the Zanzibar International Film Festival) and the Sauti za Busara.

Pemba IslandPemba Island, known as "The Green Island" in Arabic is an island forming part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, lying within the Swahili Coast in the Indian Ocean. Pemba is a magical island. Unlike Unguja (Zanzibar), Pemba is hilly. Gentle, undulating hills and deep verdant valleys are all covered with a dense cover of clove, coconut, mango and other fruit and crop plantations. A more fertile land is difficult to imagine.

Old DispensaryAlso known as Ithnashiri Dispensary, is a historical building in Stone Town. The Dispensary is one of the most finely decorated buildings of Stone Town and a symbol of the multi-cultural architecture and heritage of the city. Its wooden carved balconies, with stained glass decorations, are of Indian influence; the main structure is built with traditional Zanzibari coral rag and limestone, but covered with stucco adornments of European neo-classical taste. The inside of the building is just as sophisticated, with a covered courtyard and carved bridges connecting the floors. It has a small museum about the history of Zanzibar.

Zanzibar Butterfly Centre

Along the main road about 1km before the Jozani Forest entrance is this butterfly centre, one of the largest butterfly enclosures in East Africa, with a netted garden and tours where you can see the life cycle stages of the butterfly, including some beautiful cocoons. The Centre is a popular Zanzibar tourist attraction featuring a live display of Tanzanian butterflies.

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Zanzibar

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