Mafia Island is one of Tanzania’s unspoiled gems. Beaches free of anything but sand, waves and palm trees. Sunset vistas where the only noises are wind, birds and the click of your camera. Forests where only the black monkeys roam. And of course, some of the most fascinating and accessible underwater marine life in all of East Africa.
Though the last decade has brought major investment and development projects to the island (a new airport, new port, new roads, and a cheap, comprehensive mobile phone service), most travelers have yet to catch on. Though it is easy to arrive, easy to get around, and easy to arrange all the things you may want to do, Mafia remains off the beaten track.
While the word Mafia (unrelated to organized crime) can be roughly translated from Arabic ("archipelago") or Swahili ("friendly dwelling-place"), the traditional Swahili name is Chole Shamba (literally, “The Field of Birds”). The island is technically part of Tanzania’s Zanzibar Archipelago, but is found quite a ways south of the main islands and forms its own chain (the Mafia Archipelago) which includes various smaller islands dotted around Mafia, such as Chole, Jibondo and Juani. Less than 50,000 people reside on the islands, and most live by fishing and farming. Tanzania’s three main religious groups (Islam, Christianity and traditional beliefs) as well as non-believers are all represented on the island, and Muslims form the majority.
Mafia’s history is distinct from much of the rest of mainland Africa, mostly because of its pivotal strategic importance in the Indian Ocean. From the 8th century it functioned as a base for Arab trade routes, especially the silver traffic from Zimbabwe, and Arabic influence (such as local cuisine and the dhow) persists to this day. German colonizers at the turn of the century recognized Mafia’s value and constructed a settlement on Chole, which has become a top historical site. In 1915, during the First World War, British forces invaded the island in order to attack the German fleet and to acquire a chokepoint on their rival’s East Africa colony, which soon after became British. Under British colonial control and later as part of the new nation of Tanzania (created from the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar), Mafia both enjoyed peace and endured isolation.
The island remained off most maps of political, economic and tourist significance until the 1990s. In 1995, following extensive research activity by the UK’s Society for Environmental Exploration (Frontier), and with the financial assistance of the WWF (World Wildlife Fund), the Mafia Island Marine Park was established. The first of its kind, Mafia’s marine park attracted whole new streams of volunteers, scientists and travelers, many of whom came for the untouched reefs and stayed for the untouched culture.
Today, visitors arrive by boat or plane, both of which arrive and depart daily. For more information, see our section on How to Get to Mafia Island. Activities include diving, snorkeling, whale watch sighting, hiking, bicycling, and volunteering. Most travelers stay in the south of the island, around Utende (which is inside the marine park, and thus costs US$20 per day to visit and/or stay) and Kilindoni, where there are artisan markets, bars and a plethora of eateries. There is plenty to see in the north as well, including black monkeys and Bweni Lighthouse.
There is of course much more to Mafia Island than a few paragraphs, but let this introduction be the hook to bring you closer. If you have any questions or would like to know more, don’t hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hosting you!
