
While Tanzania’s famous northern circuit national parks, Mt.
Kilimanjaro, the Selous Game Reserve, and of course
Zanzibar, comprising of the islands of Unguja and Pemba, are
well known abroad and need little explanation, this more
distant location has always been a specialty destination for
tourists.
Those who ever made their way, by air or by boat, to Mafia
Island, have tall tales to tell. Excellent diving grounds
along the reefs surrounding the island, rewarding snorkeling
trips, endless empty beaches with no beach boy pests
bothering the visitors, good fishing, and an intact nature
rarely found today, make up some of the attractions tourists
enjoy and come back for. Ruins of ancient settlements dating
back to the 11th century give an insight into the history of
Mafia, which, while at one time part of the Kilwa Sultanate,
changed hands multiple times among major seafaring powers
that ruled the world at one time or another.
Located about a hundred miles south of Dar es Salaam and
only a few miles off the mainland, almost opposite the
Rufiji River delta, the small archipelago of Mafia is one of
Tanzania’s best-kept secrets. Some 50 kilometers long and at
the widest point just 15 kilometers across, the island is
almost entirely surrounded by a massive barrier reef teeming
with marine life, and half of the island’s shoreline extends
into a marine national park. While an airstrip allows for
daily flights to the mainland and telecommunications allow
to stay in touch with the rest of the world, a trip to Mafia
is also a trip back into time, and as such, a marvel waiting
to be explored.
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