Pemba Island, known as "The Green Island" in Arabic and is an island forming part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, lying within the Swahili Coast in the Indian Ocean.
With a land area of 988 square kilometres (381 sq mi) it is situated about 50 kilometres (31 mi) to the north of Unguja, the largest island of the archipelago.
In 1964, Zanzibar was united with the former colony of Tanganyika to form Tanzania. I
It lies 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of mainland Tanzania, across the Pemba Channel. Together with Mafia Island (south of Unguja), these islands form the Spice Islands.Do not to confuse with the Maluku Islands of Indonesia.
Most of the island, which is hillier and more fertile than Unguja, is dominated by small scale farming.
There is also large scale farming of cash crops such as cloves.
In previous years, the island was seldom visited due to inaccessibility and a reputation for political violence, with the notable exception of those drawn by its reputation as a center for traditional medicine and witchcraft.
There is a quite large Arab community on the island, who immigrated from Oman.
The population is a mix of Arab and original Waswahili inhabitants of the island. A significant portion of the population also identifies as Shirazi people.
The most important towns in Pemba are Chake-Chake - the capital, Mkoani, and Wete, which is the largest city.
The centrally located Chake-Chake is perched on a mound with a view to the west on a bay and the tiny Misali Island, where the tides determine when a dhow can enter the local harbour.
Pemba is, with the exception of a strip of land along its eastern coast, a very fertile place: besides clove trees, the locals grow mainly rice, coconut, bananas, cassava and red beans called maharagwe in the Swahili language.
Pemba is home to several dive sites, with steep drop-offs, untouched coral and very abundant marine life.
- Chake Chake is the largest town on Pemba. It is located on the southern half of the island. It has a small airport from which bush planes run daily flights to Zanzibar (Unguja) and Dar es Salaam, and several small hotels and guest houses.
- Wete is a town located on the northern half of Pemba Island. It is smaller than Chake Chake by a considerable margin, but is still a reasonably large town by Pemban standards. It has a few hotels and guest houses, but they are harder to find than the ones in Chake Chake.
Pemba has a tropical climate, yet somewhat milder than Tanzania's mainland and milder than in Unguja island.
This climate is classified as "Aw" by the Köppen-Geiger system. The average temperature in Chake Chake is 25.5 °C (78 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,364 mm.
The monthly average temperatures are usually between 24 - 27.4°C (75°F - 81°F). There are two rain seasons, with most rainfall coming between April and May and smaller rain season coming between November and December.
Drier months are January - February, and a longer drier season between June to October.
Archaeological research on Pemba has shown its centrality to the Swahili coast trading system as early as 600 AD. Along the northern coast, urban settlements at Chwaka later developed and flourished from the eleventh century to ~1500 AD.
West of Pemba's capital Chake-Chake, on a long stretched peninsula called Ras Mkumbuu, one can find some of the oldest and best preserved series of early ruins on the islands Ndagoni ruins, probably of the 14th century.
East of Chake-Chake one can find the Mkama Ndume ruins at Pujini village which is south of the airport, within easy reach by road from Chake-Chake. This is the only known early fortification on the whole Swahili Coast; it is dated to the fifteenth century.
According to the Arab geographer Yakut, in the mid-13th century there were two independent sultans ruling over parts of Pemba Island.
On 24 June 2016, the Australian Transport Minister, Darren Chester, said that a piece of aircraft debris was found on Pemba Island, possibly being from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Pemba Island is 99% Muslim and 1% Non-Muslim. Though not a safety concern, it is recommended that women travel with long skirts, covered shoulders and a head scarf out of respect for the local tradition.
Pemba is considerably poorer and less developed than its neighboring Zanzibar or Unguja.
Public toilets are essentially non-existent, and toilet paper is only found in the high-end hotels.
Bring your own if you're staying at a guest house, and always use the restroom before heading out for the day unless you're comfortable joining the locals in public urination.
Swahili. Asalam Waaleikum is an arabic greeting that is used here. The corresponding response is Waaleikum Salam.
There is an often-used airport just outside of Chake Chake that has daily flights both to and from Zanzibar (Unguja) and Dar es Salaam for about 100,000 shillingi one-way.
A cheaper alternative is a direct ferry from Dar es Salaam, although it leaves only twice a week and may not be suitable for strict schedules.
There is also a direct ferry from Tanga that runs very infrequently and often stops running completely for weeks at a time. Note that the ferries are poorly maintained and have sunk before, resulting in massive numbers of fatalities.
If you insist on taking a ferry, do not ride the night ferries.
You can purchase tickets for both the planes and the ferries at ticket offices in Chake Chake and Wete.
Pemba Airport is also known as Wawi Airport or Karume Airport and connects the island to Arusha, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.
The other option, for more adventurous travelers, is to hitch a boat from one of many fishing harbors on the mainland coast.
If the ferry in Tanga is not going, you may try asking fishermen on the eastern coast - ocean side, 5.088°S 39.13°E. The fare depends on how you bargain and the travel time will be something between 6 and 18 hours, depending on tide and wind.
By dala dala,the local term for minibuses. There are small bus stations in both Wete and Chake Chake. Bus fare from Wete to Chake Chake costs 1500 shillingi, with shorter rides costing less and longer rides costing more.
Pemba is one of the diving jewels of of the east of Africa. There are at least two dive operators,Swahili Divers and Manta Reef operating under the PADI and BSAC codes that serve visitors.
Diver's highlights include: Extensive plate coral gardens on the west coast which make for a world class drift dive The marine reserve surrounding Misali Island that is threatened by proposed government development, hence now is the time to visit The annual whale migration in July and August when humpback whales have been reported on the east coast.
The food on Pemba is largely the same as the food on the mainland. For breakfast, a flat, dense pancake called chapati can be purchased from street vendors in the larger cities, as well as a thick porridge called uji and a sugared, donut-like bun called kisheti.
Fried cassava or potatoes are very common for lunch, though fancier restaurants will offer rice, beans, and other typical Tanzanian fare. Chipsi Mayai (Potatoes and Eggs) is an ubiquitous street food that many foreign travelers find more palatable than the other comparatively bland options, and almost all places with a grill will make it on request.
For dinner, you can find street vendors who sell arojo, a thin, tart soup into which potatoes, croutons, salt, and hot pepper is added. Deep-friend pueza (octopus) is also very common on the street at night, along with all the aforementioned Tanzanian fare.
Fresh fruit of one kind or another is almost always available. While all the fruit is seasonal, you will inevitably find something that is in season. Common fruits are jackfruit, breadfruit, mangoes, oranges, and bananas.
As with most developing countries, food particularly beans and rice may be inundated with sand or gravel, so eat carefully to avoid the dental misery that accompanies biting a pebble.
Pemba is also famous for its rich fishing grounds. Between the island and the mainland there is the deep 50 kilometre wide Pemba Channel, which is one of the most profitable fishing grounds for game fishing on the Swahili Coast.
A large proportion of the Zanzibar export earnings comes from cloves.
The greatest concentration of clove trees is found on Pemba (3.5 million trees) as growing conditions here are superior to those on Unguja island.
Clove trees grow to the height of around 10 to 15 metres and can produce crops for over 50 years.
More recently with the booming tourism industry in neighbouring Zanzibar, more adventurous travellers are seeking out the less-crowded Pemba, led by dive tourists seeking the uncrowded and un-spoiled reefs the island offers the experienced diver.
For the promotion of tourism the department of Surveys and Mapping at Chake-Chake has published a map with tourist guide since 1992.
Tourism Observer
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