Bambao Palace & Ylang-ylang Plantations
Bambao Mtsanga
The ruins of a 19th-century sultan's summer palace on the east coast, surrounded by ylang-ylang and clove plantations and traditional distilleries.
Bambao Mtsanga lies on the east coast road between Mutsamudu and Domoni. In the 19th century Sultan Abdallah III built a palace here. It later became the center of the Société Bambao, a colonial-era plantation company. The palace is now largely in ruins, though arches and courtyards remain. Around Bambao, ylang-ylang and clove are still grown. Low, pruned ylang-ylang trees line the roadside, and small village distilleries distill flowers over wood fires in iron pots to extract essential oils. Anjouan is known as the Island of Spices, and its ylang-ylang oil has supplied the French perfume industry. To visit a distillery, ask your guide to make arrangements, and pay a small fee. Bambao can be combined with a day trip to Domoni.
Opening hours
Daytime (check on site)