Why should you choose Zanzibar?

Is just enough to think about Zanzibar and feelings of total relaxation come around. I cannot describe in words the peacefulness of that place, the simplicity, the tranquility, the nature still in its pure wild appearance, without too much tourism influence.

If you need to reboot your mind and body I think you should pay a visit to Zanzibar, which is an island, part of Tanzania, East Africa. So many reasons to visit that place, I am sure that my list can be completed by each traveler who stepped on the “black coast” a translation of Zanzibar name, Persian origin.

Why should you visit Zanzibar? For at least one of these:

• Extremely clear waters of Indian Ocean, white sand, coral reefs protecting the island

• East coast with less touristic places to stay and eat where you can relax

• Even ebb and flow, those two phases of the tide seemed to me spectacular on the East coast, especially when you see 4 meters difference

• Welcoming, relaxed and happy people, always you will hear a “Mambo” or a “Jumbo” (greetings form) or “Hakuna Matata” (no worries translation) and if you ever try to be in a hurry definitely you will be hearing “pole pole” (easy-easy translation)
• A ride, if you feel adventurous, with daladala, sort of a shared bus-taxi, a common transportation in Tanzania

• Stone Town which is the Old city of Zanzibar, which become a Unesco World heritage site for the mixture of Indian, Persian, Arabic and European culture
• Stone Town is also the place of birth of Freddie Mercury (Farrokh Bulsara) and you can see the house of Queen’s lead vocalist

• The House of Wonders, built in 1883 is the first house with electricity in Zanzibar and also the first building in East Africa with an elevator

• The Old Fort, located near the House of Wonders, built to protect the city from European invasions

• The Old Dispensary built by an Indian trader to serve as a charity hospital, famous for its carved wooden balconies
• The Palace Museum, a former sultan’s palace, now a museum about the life of Zanzibar royal family
• The Anglican cathedral of Christ Church, built in an area where previously there was the biggest slave market in Zanzibar

• The Roman Cathedral of St. Joseph with its two high spires, which can be seen when sailing towards Stone Town, still operational church
• The Forodhani Gardens is a small park in the front of the House of Wonders, popular for locals and tourists especially after sunset when the place become animated

• Taste some food at Lukmaan’s in Stone Town

• Prison island or Changuu, former prison for rebellious slaves but became a quarantine prison for yellow fever cases, coral mine and nowadays the house of Aldabra giant tortoises

• Delicious fruits, which can be seen in a spice farm, bought and tasted in the market (mango, bread fruit, baby bananas, durian, cherimoya and so many others)

• A spice tour will give you informations about what you can find in Zanzibar, the guides have a special talent to make you feel special, you will see maybe how to climb in coconut trees and sing

• Safari blue tour gives you the chance to see the dolphins
• You can visit Jozani forest, the only national park in Zanzibar
• Take a picture of The Rock, the restaurant that become a tourist attraction for its location
• The unique carved wooden doors of Zanzibar, become a landmark of this Island

• The maasai – the local population with their specific customs and dress
• Tanzanite, the gemstone discovered in Tanzania, in the mainland, near the mount of Kilimanjaro in 1967

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