Signal verified · updated 2026-09-03
Pemba
Tanzania's green clove island: lush, hilly Pemba in the Zanzibar Archipelago, famed for diving and Swahili culture.
- Formation
- coral limestone over ancient reef; low rolling hills, deep Pemba Channel drop-off on the west coast
- Population
- 406,808
- Water
- Indian Ocean
- Access
- moderate
Every required movement
The passage
to Pemba.
Fly to Pemba Airport (PBA) at Chake-Chake from Zanzibar or Dar es Salaam; passenger ferries link Mkoani with Zanzibar and the mainland.
- 01Pemba Airport (PBA), Chake-Chake
Nearest recorded air access
Schedule or condition may change · verify - 02Water crossing
Passenger ferries connect Mkoani (south Pemba) with Unguja (Zanzibar) and Dar es Salaam.
Schedule or condition may change · verify - 03Entry check
Tanzania visa rules apply; Zanzibar-bound visitors need a valid Tanzania visa.
Schedule or condition may change · verify
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What the chart cannot hold
What becomes visible when you follow clove plantations beyond the familiar map?
Pemba is the second-largest island of the Zanzibar Archipelago, greener and hillier than Unguja. Its economy rests on cloves, fishing and seaweed farming; its reefs and the Pemba Channel are among East Africa's top dive sites.
Swahili trading island; Portuguese foothold in the 16th–17th centuries; Omani Sultanate of Zanzibar; British protectorate 1890; Zanzibar independence 1963, revolution and union with Tanganyika 1964.
Field ledger
The useful
details.
- Coordinates
- 5.17° S · 39.78° E
- Sovereignty
- Tanzania · part of country
- Nearest mainland
- Tanzanian mainland (~50 km west across the Pemba Channel); Unguja island ~50 km south
- Best recorded window
- June–October and December–February (drier months).
- Permits / entry
- Tanzania visa rules apply; Zanzibar-bound visitors need a valid Tanzania visa.
- Languages
- Swahili, English
Community intelligence
Notes from
the crossing.
Share firsthand conditions, access changes, respectful observations, or a question for someone who has been.
No traveler has left a public note here yet.
The empty ledger is part of the mystery—and an invitation to be useful.Travel information changes quickly. This field file was last revised 2026-09-03. Confirm all transport and permit details before booking.
Official source