Pemba Island

Pemba, Wete District, North Pemba, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Pemba Island is a Tanzanian island that is part of the Zanzibar Archipelago and is located in the Indian Ocean off the Swahili Coast. Previously, due to inaccessibility and a reputation for political violence, the island was rarely visited, with the notable exception of individuals drawn by its reputation as a center for traditional medicine and witchcraft. On the island, there is a sizable Arab community that emigrated from Oman. The population is a mix of Arabs and the island’s indigenous Waswahili inhabitants. Chake-Chake (the capital), Mkoani, and Wete, the largest city, are the most prominent settlements in Pemba. With the exception of a strip of land along its eastern shore, Pemba is a particularly fertile place: the natives grow clove trees rice, coconut, bananas, cassava, and red beans. Pemba has a number of diving sites with steep drop-offs, pristine coral, and an abundance of marine life.