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

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

. With a population of 30,762 (2022 census), Nungwi is the second largest settlement on the island. 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 of the Unguja North Region. It is about 35 miles (56 km) north of Zanzibar Town on the Nungwi Peninsula, about an hour drive from

Stone Town Stonetown of Zanzibar (), also known as , 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, Swahili for 'the other side'. Stone Town is located on the western coast of Un ...

. To the south Nungwi shares a border with the neighboring Matemwe- and Tazari villages. Nungwi was traditionally a fishing village and

dhow Dhow (; ) 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 sporting long thin hulls, dhows are trading vessels ...

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

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

’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 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, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. 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'', also known as she-oak, Australian pine and native pine, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Casuarinaceae, and is native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and e ...

trees, as well as the good

snorkeling Snorkeling (American and British English spelling differences#Doubled in British English, British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of human swimming, swimming face down on or through a body of water while breathing ...

and

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

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

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

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, loggerh ...

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'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

.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