This large village at Zanzibar Island’s northernmost tip was once best known as a dhow-building centre.
Today, it’s a major tourist attraction, owing to its scenic beach and stunning sunsets. It is a place where traditional culture and modernity knock against each other with full force.
Fishing boats still launch from the beach – a scene unchanged for centuries – but they’re overlooked by a long line of hotels. Nungwi beach is definitely a highlight.
The Mnarani Marine Turtle Conservation Pond is a community based NGO established in 1993 as an effort to conserve the population of sea turtles native to Zanzibar island. The Stone Town based Eco & Culture Tours NGO was the initiator of this project, and empowered the local villagers to take this conservation initiative into their own hands. Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) have traditionally been hunted around Zanzibar for their attractive shells, and Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) for their meat.
Nungwi is a small village that you can walk around and the locals are used to seeing many tourist everyday. Visitors can buy fruits, paintings and souvenirs from the local shops in the village along the main road. Please be advised when visiting the village always keep your shoulders and knees covered as a sign of according respect to the locals and their culture.
The local fishermen leave for their night of fishing out around 4pm everyday, dotting the horizon with tens of dhows and their white-sails. This is a very opportune moment that you can’t miss and will want to have your camera with you.
The next morning at around 6.30 to 7am, the fisherman are back with their catch of all shapes and sizes; big fish and sea creatures you have never seen before on the market ready for sale. Here you can watch as the locals bid for the best catch, or if you feel like cooking, try to snag a tuna or snapper for grilling
Dhow Boats Building– Next to the fish market you can see the local craftsmen building dhow boats and watch the techniques that have been in use for decades and decades
