Pemba Island

Pemba Island — the lesser-known sister of Zanzibar — is a lushly forested island of deep-green clove plantations, pristine coral walls, and unhurried Swahili village life that offers the Indian Ocean at its most unspoiled. The waters surrounding Pemba are considered among the finest dive sites in the world: dramatic wall dives plunge 500 m into the Pemba Channel, and hammerhead sharks, manta rays, and hawksbill turtles glide through waters of extraordinary clarity. The Ngezi Forest Reserve protects Pemba's unique endemic species — including the Pemba flying fox, Pemba scops owl, and Pemba sunbird — in a remnant coral rag forest that once covered the entire island. The Pemba Channel is one of the most biologically productive marine ecosystems in the Indian Ocean.