Home Travel Destinations Tanzania’s Coast

The coast of Tanzania has an 800 km Indian Ocean coastline that boasts beautiful white sand beaches and some historic towns and cities such as Bagamoyo, Dar es Salaam, Kilwa, Lindi, Mikindani, and Mtwara. The first language of Tanzania, Swahili, traces its roots from this shoreline.

This circuit also includes the paradisiacal islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, and Mafia. These islands offer a myriad of marine activities such as scuba diving, kayaking, windsurfing, swimming with dolphins, exploring marine life, and coral reefs.

The region has many spectacular sites to see and historical places to visit. The House of Wonder, built-in 1883 by the second sultan of Zanzibar, is the tallest and biggest building in Stone Town. It was the first building to have electricity in Zanzibar and the first one to have an elevator in East Africa. Forodhani Gardens, and other awe-inspiring Arab influenced architectural structures are other things to look forward to in Zanzibar. The islands of Zanzibar and Pemba are collectively known as ‘The Spice Islands’ due to the assortment of exotic spices found there.

Pemba Island, separated from Zanzibar to the south by the Pemba channel, is part of the Zanzibar archipelago of islands. This smaller island is rich in history, as reflected in numerous centuries-old mosques, tombs, and ruins. Some of these sites have been in existence since the 10th century.

Dense mangrove forests fringe the shoreline of Pemba Island, home to many oceanic creatures. The island also boasts pristine white beaches fringed by coconut forests. Other than cloves, cinnamon, ylang-ylang, lemongrass, nutmeg, and more, are available on the island.