Spice Tours

In days past, Zanzibar was known as the ‘Spice Island’, exporting these across the world, the industry beginning with the Omani Arabs in the early 19th century when they made Zanzibar the capital of their empire.

Nowadays a Spice Tour has become one of the most popular excursions on the island. You can walk through the spice farm with your guide, touching, smelling and tasting different spices and tropical fruits, learning about their properties, origins and use as medicines and in food and drink.

A visit to a spice farm village gives you an insight into local life and the opportunity to try some Swahili dishes, taste the fruits in season and try some spiced tea. Depending on the season, you can find anything from vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, lemon grass, cloves, ylang ylang, cumin, garlic, ginger, coriander, pepper, allspice, tamarind, chilli and oregano. Fruits can include banana, pineapple, jack fruit, custard fruit, oranges, star fruit, tangerine, passion fruit, mango, avocado, pear, papaya and grapefruit.