Some places take hold of you the moment you arrive. Zanzibar is one of them.
The smell hits you first. Cloves, jasmine, and salt air blend together as you step off the plane. Then the light catches you , soft, warm, and golden in a way that makes everything look slightly better than it did before. Finally, when you reach the coast, the Indian Ocean opens before you in a shade of turquoise that no photograph has ever done justice to.
Zanzibar is an archipelago off the Tanzanian coast. It consists of the main island of Unguja, the smaller island of Pemba, and dozens of tiny islets scattered across the water. Together, they form one of East Africa’s most captivating destinations. For centuries, Swahili, Arab, Persian, Indian, and Portuguese cultures have layered over each other here. The result is something genuinely unlike anywhere else.