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SOUTHERN ARCHIPELAGO
Traditional Friendly Culture
The Southern Archipelago consists of 15 different islands and these are spread across a region that includes the Mafia Island Archipelago, the Songa Songa Islands, and the Kilwa region of Southern Tanzania.
The Mafia Archipelago Marine Park supported by the World Wide Fund for Nature, is comprised of a number of islands and uninhabited coral atolls and about 25 km from the mainland. Mafia is little changed from ancient times. It retains a traditional, unspoilt non-commercialised friendly culture, where local people go about their business as artisans, farmers, fishermen and traditional sailors. |
Mafia is a spectacularly diverse natural environment. It offers a unique mix of Africa within a tropical setting. Large palm groves, mango & cashew trees dominate the island while impressive baobab trees are dotted amongst typical African savannah grassland. Monkeys, small antelopes, wild pigs, lemurs and dwarf hippos run wild while falcons, fish eagles, Comoro bats 'flying foxes' and giant turtles have also made it their breeding ground.
The Marine Park reefs offer a range of corals and fish like no other in the Indian Ocean. There are over 400 species of fish in the park with an unparalleled variety of hard and soft corals with fabulous dive sites offering shallow reefs of immense beauty and richness. Channels, walls and caves, wrecks, drift and night dives await and there are still years of exploration to do! |
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HISTORIC ISLANDS
Kilwa and Songa Songa
Kilwa on the southern coast of Tanzania is steeped in a thousand years of history and because of its remoteness from other destinations guests can find themselves exploring reefs and islands very rarely visited.
The historically important Island of Kilwa Kisiwani lies opposite the shores of Kilwa's main town Kilwa Masoko (or Kilwa Market Town). Kilwa Kisiwani Island houses the ruins of its Arab settlers. These are considered to be one of the most significant groups of Swahili buildings on the East African Coast. They include an Arabic Fort built on the site of a 16th Century Portuguese fort, The Great Mosque dating back to the 13th Century, a smaller 15th Century Mosque, the compound of a Mid-18th Century Sultan
The Island of Songo Mnara contains the 14th and 15th Century ruins of a Palace, several Mosques, and houses.
The nearby smaller Island of Sanje Ya Kati has some more ruins of a similar era. The group of Islands collectively
named Songo Songo are an important nesting area for sea Turtles and marine Birds
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