Pemba Island
About 80km’s northeast of the larger island of Zanzibar lies Pemba Island. Pemba is smaller than Zanzibar Island and has a more undulating landscape.
Few travellers visit Pemba so little has changed over the last decade making the island a particularly eye-catching destination for tourists that are prepared to live with basic conditions.
Pemba’s landscape is densely vegetated with both natural forest and plantations. Cloves are the main agricultural product, which Pemba now produces in great quantity compared to Zanzibar. The island doesn’t have anything compared with Zanzibar’s Stone Town, but it has a large number of attractive beaches as well as some gripping ruins dating back to the Shirazi era.
During holidays, traditional bullfights are occasion held on Pemba, most likely introduced to the island during the years of Portuguese occupation. Pemba is also a centre for traditional medicine and witchcraft. People seeking spiritual or physical afflictions come from Zanzibar Island and the mainland – even as far away as Uganda and Zaire.
The islands largest town is Chake Chake, where you will be able to find banks, post offices and a hospital.
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