Tanzania: the island of Zanzibar (photo)

Russian tourists are just beginning to discover Zanzibar, although many have heard of him since childhood. Remember, in Chukovsky: "We live in Zanzibar, in Kalahari and Sahara ..."? In order to tell in detail about this small corner of our vast Earth, one article will be small, but the charming island of Zanzibar can be described in two words: "Akuna matata!", Which translates as follows: "Live, rejoice in what you have, do not think about it. Problems ". This is the whole meaning, spirit, the way of existence of the islanders and the very atmosphere of Zanzibar, into which all who come here are plunged.

Zanzibar Island: where is it?

If you visually represent Africa, its eastern part, washed by the Indian Ocean, and then even the children of the famous island of Madagascar, and slightly move from it in the northern direction to the mainland, then you will just enter the water area where the island of Zanzibar is located. Next to it from the north-west side is a little smaller Pemba Island and a lot of very small, mostly uninhabited. Another landmark for those who travel a lot - Zanzibar is located about the same place as the Seychelles, only to the west, closer to the mainland, from which it is separated by only 40 km of water. Previously, Zanzibar was called Ungudzha, but now many local residents call it that way.

How to get there

You can get to the island of Zanzibar from the continent by air and water. There is a small airport that accepts planes from Tanzania, some African and European countries. Of course, there are no direct flights from Moscow. You need to fly to the mainland of Tanzania to the capital's international airport. Flights are operated by several airlines, among them Swiss, Qatar Airlines, Emirates. In Dubai, a stop is made for docking, and, the airline Emirates offers accommodation, and others just waiting for the desired flight at the airport. Flight from Moscow to one of the two capitals of Tanzania - Dar es Salaam - lasts from 10 hours, the ticket costs from 45 thousand rubles (with discounts can be cheaper). In Dar es Salaam, there is a second airport of local importance, from where flights are made to Zanzibar. The ticket, according to the latest information, costs 65 dollars. The journey from one airport to another takes about an hour. In addition to aircraft, to the island from the mainland there are passenger ferries, starting in the capital's port.

A few words about the history

Once the island of Zanzibar was the outskirts of the continent, but in the Miocene there was a subsidence of the land, and the outskirts received "independence." The local tribes who lived here were engaged in fishing, hunting and other harmless crafts, until the Persians appeared on the island in the tenth century. They introduced the local population to Islam (it is still the dominant religion in Zanzibar) and actively engaged in the slave trade, catching their living goods in the jungle. In the XVI century, the island was dominated by the Portuguese, who took over from the Persians the slave trade. Against the new colonialists in the XVII century a brutal war began. By the middle of the 19th century, the Sultanate was established in the country, which existed until 1964, when the long-suffering Zanzibar proclaimed the long-awaited independence. In the same year he joined the Tanganyika, which changed its name to Tanzania (so that it also had something from Zanzibar). The island remained autonomous, has its own flag, its customs, its way of life, even its own president.

Neighboring islands

In this water area of the Indian Ocean, the island of Zanzibar is the largest, but not the only one. The second largest and most competitive tourist island is Pemba, which lies about 45 km north of Zanzibar. It is rich in interesting sights and excellent beaches. There is also a small airport here, but it's more convenient to get here by water. Inhabited islets in the water area only a couple - Uzi and Tumbata, located 2 km from Zanzibar. The islets are rather small, with a length of up to 10 km. Their isolation is in many respects caused by multiple corals, hampering the path to them. For the same reason (sharp corals around) other islands of the water area remain undeveloped. A very similar name to Pemba is the islet Pnemba (Mnemba) also located from Zanzibar only two kilometers away, only from the ocean side. In size it is tiny - only 5 hundred meters in diameter, but very interesting for divers. As a private domain, Pnamba is open only to elite tourists.

Climate

The island of Zanzibar is located just south of the equator line. The climate here is subequatorial, with pronounced rainy seasons. Heat, which in theory should be at the equator, there is no Zanzibar. This is facilitated by fresh breezes that bring a pleasant coolness. In the African summer, the air temperature during the day is +30 +32 on average, at night +24 +25. The temperature of the oceanic water near the coast is + 24 + 26, that is, for a holiday from November to March here is a paradise. But during the rainy season (from March to May and from September to November) there are times when there are such downpours that it is impossible to stick your nose out onto the street. In Zanzibar, this time is called low season. Many hotels and restaurants are then closed, and the remaining half or more reduce prices. But there are years when in the seasons of rains from the sky pour quite a bit, and the rest is quite comfortable.

Beaches

Advertising Bounty was filmed in six places, and could choose only one - the island of Zanzibar. The photos give an idea of the white sand on the beaches here, but it's hard to imagine how soft and soft it is like powder. The color of the water in the photo is turquoise-blue, and this is in fact so. Add to the silent picture rustling with branches of palm trees, fresh ocean breeze, unobtrusive chirping of birds - and here they are, the beaches of Zanzibar. There are no noisy water parks with water slides, hydrocycles, catamarans, "bananas" and other amenities of leisure in the seaside resorts. The maximum of entertainment is a volleyball net and surfboard. But the beaches of Zanzibar, especially on the east side of the island, have their own peculiarity - tides. The ocean can "walk away" from the coast for more than a kilometer, which is not very pleasant for holidaymakers, but is most used by local citizens who gather everything they can use on the bare day. On the beaches from the mainland, the tides with low tides are almost not palpable, so the rest there is more popular. A good place where you can spend time without problems - the village of Kendva. In addition to it, the beaches of Pongve, Uroa, Jambiani, Nungvi, Kivengava, Chwaka are popular.

Vegetable world

Tanzania is famous for its unique natural resources. The island of Zanzibar, which separated from the mainland several thousand years ago, boasts plants and animals that have long since disappeared in other parts of Africa. That is why the island of Zanzibar, and with it the whole archipelago is considered a natural reserve. What is interesting: on the island, the virgin nature represented by the forest of Josani, and man-made, including huge plantations of spices peacefully coexist. What is not grown here! Cinnamon, vanilla, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, coffee, cardamom, pepper. These and dozens of other spices used by us in the kitchen can be seen and tried on excursions that are organized on the plantation. And in the virgin forest grow mangroves, date palms, dozens of lianas and hundreds of other plants, large and small. For a walk around this corner of nature, you need to wear trousers and high shoes, because you will not have to walk along the asphalt paths, but along the barely noticeable trails.

Animal world

Who dreams of going to the unknown islands, Zanzibar is what is needed. The animal world is unique here. In the hotel where you stay, as well as on the streets of the city and, of course, in the forest, you will make the company bright and leisurely-lazy, large and small lizards. There are a lot of them on all the islands of the archipelago. To please the eye here will be exotic butterflies fluttering over exotic and ordinary colors. In the crowns of trees and on the coast you can see dozens of birds, many of which are very rare and live only in Zanzibar. Among them are spotted pigeons with red plumage, a rhinoceros, Fischer toucans , a total of 47 species. Among the animals you can name the colobus - cute monkeys living in the forest of Josani, macaques - small thieves pulling all the food that the tourists briefly left unattended, leopards who try not to come across tourists, antelopes, flying dogs living on the island of Mogil, Cobras, black and green mambos, whose bite is 100% deadly, and, of course, large turtles. To see them, you need to make a trip to a nice island, where there used to be a prison and a reference for patients with yellow fever. The island is called Prison Island. The tour here will cost about 100 dollars. Speaking about the animal world, we can not fail to mention the dozens of coral fish that can be seen among the reefs. Clownfish, parrotfish, barracuda, bonito are just some of them.

Excursions

In addition to trips to spice farms and the island of Prisons, Stone Town considers everyone to come to Zanzibar Island as their duty. The photo shows one of its main highlights - the carved door. Do not be surprised, it is the unique door that is famous for this amazing place. In addition to them, the palace of one of the former Sultans of Zanzibar, called the House of Miracles, is of interest in Stone Town. It attracts mainly appearance, and "miracles" at the time of its construction were an elevator, a water tap, electric light bulbs. In the Stone City, it's worth seeing the Persian baths, the museum located in the palace, the Malindi Mosque, the Shakti temple.

Food

Stone Town can not be avoided not only because of its relics, but also because of the best food points on the island. Of course, they are in other places too, but experienced tourists and guides know that in the cafes and restaurants of Taunna they cook more deliciously, they are fed better, and dishes, even European cuisine, though local, are much more convenient for the stomachs of Europeans. The most common dish in Zanzibar is rice pilau, which is eaten with a leek salad. It is worth to try and sorpotel (stewed with pork spices, beef tongue, heart, liver), porridge was lost, mchich salad, lobster, lobster, fish and meat cooked in an unusual way with the addition of spices in the most fantastic combinations.

Hotels

Rest on the island of Zanzibar necessarily involves accommodation in a hotel. Their choice is unusually wide - from modest "guest-houses", for example, "Beit Al-Chai", to high-class hotel complexes providing rest at the European level, for example, "Hilton Resort Zanzibar". The hotels are located along the entire coastline, as well as in Stone Town. In high season, of course, prices are twice as high as in the low. Also the prices depend on the location of the hotel and on the category of rooms. The "Coffee House" hotel is interesting, where each room has not the usual "standard", "deluxe", "deluxe" categories, and the names of coffee varieties are "espresso" (the easiest is from $ 75 to ducks), "mokkyato" (more spacious And more expensive) and so on. You can book a room in any hotel through a travel agency or independently, which is much cheaper.

Additional Information

The islands of Zanzibar belong to the Republic of Tanzania, but are included in the autonomy of Zanzibar. Although 60% of Tanzanians are Christians, Islam prevails on the island, which makes its own distinctive features in the way of life and behavior of the Zanzibarians. For example, most of them do not welcome photography. It is also undesirable in public places (in the market, in shops, just on the streets of cities) to have overly frank attire. In terms of crime, Zanzibar is a relatively quiet place, but it is not recommended to walk alone at night away from public places. Also it is not recommended to flaunt in jewelry and in every possible way show your good financial position. Entering a mosque or a private house (if you were invited), you must definitely take off your shoes. Smoking in public places in Zanzibar is forbidden, and kissing-hugging is disrespectful to others.

A few more features of the island:

- here they speak Swahili (all) and English (not all);

- money must be changed only in official institutions (bank, hotel, airport);

- Payment by credit cards is accepted only in some hotels and shops, they do not give out cash;

- vaccination against yellow fever visitors from Russia can not be done;

- tap water can not be used even for washing and cleaning teeth;

- as souvenirs from here are brought spices, clothes, paintings, crafts, jewelry, and especially valued tanzinite.

Zanzibar Island: reviews

Those who were fortunate enough to visit here, consider a long flight as an insignificant minus of rest.

The noted advantages:

- posh nature;

- fabulous beaches;

- good weather (high season);

- Pleasant, hospitable locals;

- interesting excursions;

- cozy hotels of different price category;

- this exotic.