Pemba Island

The "Green Island" of the Zanzibar Archipelago, with clove plantations, wall diving, Misali Island and quiet, unspoiled beaches.

Pemba Island lies in the north of Tanzania's Zanzibar Archipelago, about 50 km from Unguja (Zanzibar's main island), facing Kenya's south coast across the Pemba Channel. Around 70 km long, its rolling hills are covered in cloves and coconut palms, earning it the name "Green Island". It sees far fewer visitors than Zanzibar and keeps a strong Swahili rural character. The climate is hot and humid, with long rains in Mar–May and short rains in November; Jul–Oct and Dec–Feb are the peak seasons for travel and diving, and visibility in the water is best from Oct–Mar. The island falls into three areas: the south, centred on Chake Chake and Mkoani, with boat trips to Misali Island and the ruins of Pujini and Ras Mkumbuu; the north, with Wete as its gateway, home to Ngezi Forest, Vumawimbi Beach, the Kigomasha lighthouse and The Manta Resort; and the waters off the west coast, where Fundo Island and the Njao Gap are prime wall-diving sites. Getting there: small planes from Zanzibar or Dar es Salaam take about 30–60 minutes to Karume Airport (near Chake Chake), or take a fast ferry to Mkoani. Public transport on the island is by shared minibus; most visitors hire a car with driver or have their hotel arrange transfers. Plan on 3–5 days, longer for keen divers. Note: the island is a conservative Muslim society, so cover shoulders and knees in town and avoid eating or drinking in public during the day in Ramadan; ATMs are scarce, so bring enough US dollars or Tanzanian shillings; it is a malaria-risk area, so take precautions against mosquitoes.

Top sights

• Misali Island Marine Conservation Area – An uninhabited coral island off Pemba's west coast, with white beaches, mangroves and coral walls; the first stop for snorkelling and divin…
• Ngezi Forest Reserve – The last remnant of primeval tropical rainforest in northern Pemba, where guided walks can find the Pemba-endemic fruit bat and Pemba scops…
• Vumawimbi Beach – A white-sand beach stretching for several kilometres on the Kigomasha Peninsula, backed by Ngezi Forest and almost untouched by crowds.
• Ras Kigomasha Lighthouse – A cast-iron lighthouse at the northern tip of Pemba, built by the British in 1900. Visitors can climb to the top for views of the peninsula…
• Manta Resort Underwater Room – A three-level underwater room floating above a coral reef offshore. The bedroom sits 4 metres below the surface, and internet users have ca…
• Chake Chake – The capital of Pemba, where the market, mosques, old courthouse clock tower and fort ruins are all packed into a small hillside old town.
• Pemba Museum (Nanzim Fort) – A small museum inside an old fort that traces Pemba's Swahili towns, clove trade and seafaring history.
• Ras Mkumbuu Ruins – The ruins of a medieval Swahili city-state at the tip of the Ndagoni Peninsula, with the remains of an 11th-century Great Mosque and pillar…
• Pujini Ruins – The castle ruins of the 15th-century tyrant “Mkame Ndume”, with surviving walls, secret passages and an underground well that inspire curio…
• Chwaka Ruins – A medieval town ruin in northeast Pemba with the walls of two mosques and the legendary tomb of Prince Harun.
• Mtambwe Mkuu – The ruins of a small island town southwest of Wete, where the largest hoard of Fatimid silver coins in East Africa was found.
• Kidike Flying Fox Sanctuary – A community-protected roosting forest for the Pemba flying fox, where thousands of endemic giant fruit bats with wingspans of nearly 1.6 me…
• Pemba Clove Plantations – Pemba produces about 80% of Zanzibar's cloves. Spice farm tours show visitors harvesting, drying and steam-distilling clove oil.
• Wete – Pemba's second-largest town and gateway to the north, a clove export port and ferry terminal, and a good base for a northern trip.
• Mkoani – Pemba's main southern port, where ferries from Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam dock, with a busy fish market at the pier.
• Fundo Island & Njao Gap – A chain of coral islands offshore from Wete. Njao Gap and Fundo Channel are the signature wall dives and drift dives of Pemba.

Where to eat

• Fundu Lagoon Restaurant – The restaurant at a classic resort on Pemba's southwest coast, serving international dishes with Swahili touches, with…
• The Manta Resort Restaurant – A resort on Pemba's north tip famous for its underwater rooms. 2025 reviews call it the best food in Tanzania, and fres…
• Gecko Nature Restaurant – A restaurant at a diving lodge beside Ngezi Forest that serves lunch and dinner to outside guests. Divers say it is rar…

Itineraries

• Zanzibar & Pemba Twin Island 10-Day Getaway – Explore Zanzibar's Stone Town, East Coast, and North Coast, then fly to Pemba Island for cloves, forests, and Misali Is…