Nungwi, or Ras Nungwi, is a large village located in the far northern end of the island of

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

. With a population of about 5,563, Nungwi is the second- or third-largest settlement on the island, possibly smaller than

Makunduchi Makunduchi is a Tanzanian town, located the southeastern tip of Unguja (Zanzibar Island), south of Jambiani, in the South District of the Zanzibar Central/South Region. The town comprises two distinct settlements, about 2 km from each oth ...

.Pfeifer, Kimberly (2000). ''Echoing silence and narcissistic violence, Volumes 1-2''. University of Florida. Page 267. It is situated in the Nungwi Ward in the

Kaskazini A District Kaskazini A District (''Wilaya ya Kaskazini A'' in Swahili) is one of two administrative districts of Unguja North Region in Tanzania. The district covers an area of . The district is comparable in size to the land area of Cook Islands. The dis ...

of the

Unguja North Region Unguja North Region, Zanzibar North Region or North Zanzibar Region (''Mkoa wa Unguja Kaskazini'' in Swahili) is one of the 31 regions of Tanzania. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the ...

. It is about 35 miles (56 km) north of

Zanzibar Town Stonetown of Zanzibar ( ar, مدينة زنجبار الحجرية), also known as Mji Mkongwe ( Swahili for "old town"), is the old part of Zanzibar City, the main city of Zanzibar, in Tanzania. The newer portion of the city is known as Ng'ambo ...

on the Nungwi Peninsula, about an hour drive from Stone Town. To the south Nungwi shares a border with the neighboring Matemwe- and Tazari villages. Nungwi was traditionally a fishing village and

dhow Dhow ( ar, داو, translit=dāwa; mr, script=Latn, dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically spo ...

-building center, but is now a popular tourist destination, and for instance recognized in

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

’s list of "100 best beaches of the world" in 2014. West Nungwi has changed a lot since the 1990s and is now a popular tourist destination with numerous resorts, restaurants, bars, stores, etc. East Nungwi is quieter and generally more laid-back. Nungwi can be reached by public bus,

dala-dala Dala dala are minibus share taxis in Tanzania.Thoughts On Dala Dala Buse ...

or a hired vehicle from Zanzibar Town. From Zanzibar Town the main tarmac road goes through the villages Mtoni, Mahonda, Kinvasini and Kivunge. It costs about TSh . Dala-dala number 116 leaves daily from Creek Road in Zanzibar Town for Nungwi every half-hour between 5:30 AM and 9 PM. Public bus on route 14 departs also every half-hour between 7 AM and 6 PM from the Darajani Terminal, Zanzibar Town.McIntyre, Susan and Chris (2013). ''Zanzibar''. Bradt Travel Guides. Page 218. .

Economy

In the past it was mostly known as a

boatyard and fishing village. Until the 1990s, the local population was opposed to

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

. Nungwi's beach is one of the last in the area to host

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

s and other touristic structures, but has however, in recent years emerged as the most visited tourist destination in Zanzibar.Briggs, Philip (2006). ''Northern Tanzania with Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar''. Bradt Travel Guides. Page 253. .McIntyre, Susan and Chris (2013). ''Zanzibar''. Bradt Travel Guides. Page 217. . Between 2008 and 2013, the number of hotel rooms has increased by 129 percent to about 1,000 rooms. The recent increase in tourism has been due to its coast and beaches lined with palm, mangrove, and

casuarina ''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fa ...

trees, as well as the good

snorkeling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters ...

and

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

. The main beach of Nungwi is nicknamed "Jambo Square". A small aquarium with

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhe ...

s has also recently been created in the village. Besides tourism and fishing, agriculture constitutes a smaller portion of the economic activity. Farmers cultivate lentils, corn, beans, and

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

.Pfeifer, Kimberly 2000). ''Echoing silence and narcissistic violence, Volumes 1-2''. University of Florida. Page 271.

Sources

{{coord, -5.726, 39.296, display=title Swahili people Swahili city-states Swahili culture Populated coastal places in Zanzibar Unguja North Region Populated places in Zanzibar

Economy

See also

Sources