Pemba was known by Arab sailors as 'El Huthera', meaning the Green, on account of her dense and lush vegetation. Now known as the 'Green Island', the lush, tropical island of Pemba is charming and enchanting. Clove plantations, rice fields, hilly terrain, green valleys and palm fringed beaches make it a land of variety and contrasts. The Pemba Channel offers excellent opportunities for fishing and diving as well as a nature lovers paradise for bird lovers.
Where Zanzibar is a low-lying coral atoll with broad sandy beaches, Pemba is a true island with incredibly fertile hilly terrain and spectacular deepwater drop-offs for divers. Despite its proximity to Zanzibar, Pemba really is off the beaten track, getting less than 1% of its neighbour's visitor traffic. Those who do venture here are rewarded with an incredibly authentic Swahili Coast experience.
The northernmost Island of the Zanzibar archipelago off Tanzania, Pemba is fast becoming a unique destination in its own right. Pemba was seized by the Sultan of Muscat (now Oman) in the 17th century. He was so enchanted by the Spice Islands that he installed himself in Zanzibar and ruled Muscat from there. When the Western Colonial powers came to East Africa the British forced the Sultanates of Muscat and Zanzibar to separate and then administered the Spice Islands in the name of the Sultan. All the while, the Arab dhows would ply the trade winds down from the Arabian Peninsula to East Africa. With the winds they would take cloves to India, textiles back to the Arab lands and silver and wood to the Spice Islands.
For centuries, Pemba’s clove plantations and spice fields provided the Omani sultanate in Zanzibar with money for trade and military dominance over the surrounding areas. Pemba Island is still the world's major clove producer, but has now slipped into its more traditional role of being an Island Paradise with small inter-island trade. Chake wharf is now mainly used for swimming & fishing. The Dhows have remained a constant throughout the history of Pemba. To this day they ply the run from Wete to Shimoni in Kenya and, when the winds are favourable they plough through to Northern Mozambique.
Pemba is a magical island. Unlike Zanzibar, Pemba is hilly. Gentle, undulating hills and deep verdant valleys are all covered with a dense cover of clove, coconut and mango plantations. A more fertile land it is difficult to imagine then Pemba. But it is not just the landscape that gives Pemba its magical reputation. For centuries Pemba has held a reputation as a centre for the juju traditions of medicine and magic. There certainly is a strange atmosphere on Pemba. How can so beautiful a place be so devoid of visitors ? On an island with a population of 300,000 there can rarely be more than a couple of dozen foreigners. It is as if the people of Pemba have a secret that they refuse to let go. That is not to say that the people here are not friendly. Traveling in Pemba is like traveling in unknown territory. In the countryside, villagers are eager to talk to passers-by and small children cry at the sight of a muzungu. (white man) In town, market stallholders call you over and sit you down to try their different fruits, laughing hysterically at your reaction.
Pemba offers today's visitor a number of attractions including lovely beaches, world-class scuba diving and a number of historical sites. Ngezi Forest Reserve is a beautiful place to visit, as is Misali Island, which Captain Kidd is reputed to have used as a hide-out in the 17th century.
Resident wildlife includes the Pemba puddle frog and the Pemba flying fox (an endemic fruit bat). Pemba is more remote but as a result offers some of the best unexplored coral reefs and marine life in the world. Facilities are less developed on Pemba, but the beautiful beaches, historical attractions and spectacular scuba diving and snorkeling are well worth the trip