History · Zanzibar · Tanzania
7 historic sites to see in Zanzibar
The places that tell the story of how the city came to be.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: This photo was taken by Anton Zelenov . Please credit this with : Photo : Anton Zelenov in, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Start with Stone Town, Old Fort (Ngome Kongwe) and Former slave market and Christ Church. Together the 7 picks below take roughly 16–20 hours across 5 areas; 2 are free.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 7
- Free entry
- 2
- Time to see them all
- 16–20 hours
- Areas
- Stone Town, Off Stone Town and Southern Unguja
Historic sites in Zanzibar
Historic site · Stone Town
1.Stone Town
Its mosques, churches, Hindu temples and old merchant houses reflect centuries of Indian Ocean trade.
- Time needed
- A full day
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- History
- Architecture
- Photo spot
Historic site · Stone Town
2.Old Fort (Ngome Kongwe)
Built by the Omanis around 1700 on the site of a Portuguese church, the fort's thick walls now enclose craft shops, a café and an open-air amphitheatre used for performances and festivals.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Shopping
Historic site · Stone Town
3.Former slave market and Christ Church
An exhibition on the East African slave trade, underground chambers and a memorial sculpture of chained figures make it one of the most important sites on the island.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Island · Off Stone Town
4.Prison Island (Changuu)
About 30 minutes by boat from Stone Town, Changuu Island was planned as a prison and later used as a quarantine station; today it is home to a colony of Aldabra giant tortoises, some of them very old, plus a small beach and snorkelling reef.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Nature
- History
- Outdoors
Neighbourhood · Southern Unguja
5.Kizimkazi
A fishing village on the south coast where boats take visitors to look for bottlenose and humpback dolphins, and where the Kizimkazi mosque has Kufic inscriptions dated to the early 12th century, among the oldest on the East African coast.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Nature
- History
- Outdoors
Historic site · North of Stone Town
6.Maruhubi Palace ruins
The ruins of a palace built in the 1880s for Sultan Barghash, destroyed by fire in 1899, stand among palms on the coast a few kilometres north of Stone Town, with surviving columns, bathhouses and water tanks.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Off the beaten path
Historic site · North-west coast
7.Mangapwani caves
On the coast about 20 km north of Stone Town, a natural coral cave and a man-made underground chamber are linked to the illegal slave trade that continued after the open market closed in 1873.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Off the beaten path
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Stone Town | Stone Town, Old Fort (Ngome Kongwe) and Former slave market and Christ Church | A full day + 45 minutes + 1–1.5 hours |
| Off Stone Town | Prison Island (Changuu) | Half a day |
| Southern Unguja | Kizimkazi | Half a day |
| North of Stone Town | Maruhubi Palace ruins | 45 minutes |
| North-west coast | Mangapwani caves | 1 hour |
Booking and timing
Of these 7, 2 free, 3 low cost, 2 mid-priced. None needs booking far in advance. The longest visit is Stone Town; group the rest by area to save travel time.
How to fit them into 5 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Stone Town): Stone Town, at least 6 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Stone Town): Old Fort (Ngome Kongwe) → Former slave market and Christ Church, at least 2 hours.
- Half-day 3 (Off Stone Town): Prison Island (Changuu), at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 4 (Southern Unguja and North of Stone Town): Kizimkazi → Maruhubi Palace ruins, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 5 (North-west coast): Mangapwani caves, at least 1 hour.
The quietest months for queues
- May: highs of 29°C (84°F), about 14 rainy days, very quiet crowds. Rains continue, easing towards the end of the month; low prices but limited boat trips.
- April: highs of 30°C (86°F), about 17 rainy days, very quiet crowds. The heart of the long rains, with heavy downpours, rough seas and some hotels closed.
- November: highs of 31°C (88°F), about 11 rainy days, quiet crowds. The short rains bring afternoon showers and storms, usually brief; good-value prices.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Stone Town — Coral-stone lanes, boutique hotels, rooftop restaurants and the island's history
- Jambiani — A long fishing village of seaweed farms and quiet guesthouses
More of Zanzibar
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Zanzibar?
Stone Town. Listed by UNESCO in 2000, Stone Town is a densely built Swahili trading town of coral-stone houses with carved wooden doors, balconies and shaded lanes, shaped by Arab, Persian, Indian, African and European influences.
+Which of these are free in Zanzibar?
Stone Town and Old Fort (Ngome Kongwe).