Zan Maldive Tours and Safaris

Area: Chwaka

  • Jozani Forest Tour

    Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park is the only national park on Unguja, and the last substantial piece of the groundwater forest once covering much of the island. It is also the only place in the world where the Zanzibar red colobus monkey lives, an endemic species named after the British consul Sir John Kirk.

    The monkeys are habituated and unafraid, so sightings are close and reliable. Troops feed and move through the canopy directly above the trail while your guide explains their social structure, their diet and the conservation work keeping the population stable. Sykes’ monkeys, bush babies, Ader’s duiker, butterflies and a long list of birds share the same forest.

    The second half of the visit follows a raised boardwalk through the mangrove swamp on the edge of Chwaka Bay. The walkway carries you over the tidal channels and root systems, and your guide explains how the mangrove protects the coast and feeds the fishery the villages depend on.

    The park sits about fifty kilometres from Stone Town on the road toward the east coast, so it combines easily with a spice farm morning or a Stone Town walk.

  • Zanzibar Zipline Adventure

    The zipline course runs on steel cables strung high above the forest, and it is the only way to see the Zanzibar canopy from above. You are fitted into a full harness, briefed by the ground crew and then sent out along a series of connected lines, some of them linked by suspension bridges.

    Between the runs there is a guided walk on the forest floor, where the guides point out the trees, the birds and the small wildlife living in the canopy you have been flying over. The mix of adrenaline and quiet forest walking makes the session more interesting than a pure adventure ride.

    Guides handle every clip and check personally, run the safety briefing before anything else happens, and stay with the group throughout. No experience is needed and first-timers make up most of each session.

    The activity works well for families with older children, for couples and for groups looking for something active between beach days.

  • Jozani Forest and Butterfly Centre

    This half-day trip pairs Zanzibar’s only national park with the community butterfly project next door, and covers most of the island’s land wildlife in a single morning.

    Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park comes first. The forest trails carry you into the territory of the endemic Zanzibar red colobus monkey, found nowhere else on earth. Sykes’ monkeys, bush babies, Ader’s duiker, butterflies and forest birds share the same trees, and your guide finds them and explains how the conservation programme works.

    The Zanzibar Butterfly Centre sits beside the park entrance. It is a community project: local farmers rear butterfly pupae for the enclosure and for export, which gives villages an income from keeping the forest standing. Inside the netted garden dozens of native species fly around you, and the keepers show you chameleons, bush babies, elephant shrews and other small residents.

    The combination works particularly well for families and for anyone with an interest in conservation, since both sites explain what protecting the forest actually pays for.

  • Stone Town and Jozani Forest

    Wildlife and history in one day, running the forest first while the monkeys are active and the day is still cool.

    You arrive at Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park in the mid-morning. The trails lead into the territory of the endangered Zanzibar red colobus monkey, a species living nowhere else on earth. Bush babies, Ader’s duiker, Sykes’ monkeys, butterflies and forest birds share the same trees. Your guide finds the troops, explains their behaviour and takes you across the mangrove boardwalk on the edge of Chwaka Bay.

    The afternoon moves to Stone Town. This UNESCO World Heritage Site carries African, Indian, European and Arabic influences in a few square kilometres of coral stone lanes. Your guide leads you past Darajani market, the former slave market and Forodhani Gardens, with views over the House of Wonders, and fills in the stories of Princess Salme, Farrokh Bulsara and Bi Kidude.

    The day finishes at the Old Fort with time for craft and souvenir shopping before the drive back to your hotel.

  • Spice Farm and Jozani Forest

    The best land-based day on the island, and the right choice for guests more interested in nature and farming than in boats.

    The morning starts in Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park, home of the endangered Zanzibar red colobus monkey and the last substantial piece of the groundwater forest once covering Unguja. Bush babies, duikers, butterflies and forest birds live in the same trees. Keep your eyes on the canopy and your guide will find the troops. The walk finishes on the mangrove boardwalk crossing the tidal forest.

    The afternoon runs on a working spice farm a short drive from Stone Town. Pepper, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla and cinnamon grow here alongside herbs and tropical fruit. Your guide handles the plants as you walk, so you taste and smell everything at the source, and explains how each spice reaches the local kitchen, the herbal medicine chest and the ceremonies at the heart of Zanzibari culture.

    Fruit is cut and served, and there is time at the farm shop before the drive back.

  • Jozani Forest and Prison Island

    A full day of nature across two very different habitats, the forest and the reef.

    The morning walk goes through Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park, the only national park on Unguja and a safe haven for the famous endemic Kirk’s red colobus monkey. Your guide leads you along the nature trail and helps you spot the troops, along with the forest’s other residents: Sykes’ monkeys, bush babies, duikers, butterflies and birds. The route also crosses the mangrove forest on the raised boardwalk.

    Later in the day you are driven to Stone Town to catch the boat over to Changuu Island, a crossing of about thirty minutes. On arrival your guide sets out the story of the prison built in 1893 and never used to hold prisoners, and introduces the famous giant land tortoises.

    The rest of the afternoon is free to relax, swim, snorkel the shallow reef or sunbathe before the boat returns.