Private Spice Farm Tour, Zanzibar

The spice plantation in Zanzibar's green interior

The spice farms lie in the centre-west of the island around Kizimbani and Kidichi, about half an hour by road from Stone Town and roughly forty-five minutes to an hour from the north and east coast beaches. This is a landscape of red earth, tall coconut palms and dense gardens where spice trees grow together with bananas, jackfruit and cassava, just as they have since the nineteenth century, when the sultans of Oman moved their court to Zanzibar and planted cloves across the island. For decades Zanzibar was the world's leading clove exporter, and the scent of drying cloves is still part of village life.

A Zanzibar spice tour is among the first things to do in Zanzibar on almost every list, and the private version lets you take it slowly. On arrival the guide welcomes you with a cold bottle of water and sets off along the shaded paths, explaining the layout of the farm as you go.

Cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and the spices on the tree

Most visitors have only ever seen these spices in jars, and the surprise of the walk is discovering what they look like alive. Cloves are the unopened flower buds of a tall evergreen, picked by hand and dried in the sun. Nutmeg hides inside a fruit like an apricot, wrapped in a red lace of mace. Cinnamon is bark peeled from young branches, and its root smells of something close to menthol. Vanilla is an orchid that must be pollinated by hand, black pepper climbs the trees in green strings, and turmeric and ginger are dug from the ground.

The guide cuts, crushes and hands each one to you, and your party guesses before he reveals the answer. It is a game children adore and adults quietly compete at. Expect this part of the walk to take about an hour and a quarter, with lemongrass, cardamom, cocoa, annatto, the "lipstick tree", and ylang-ylang along the way.

Tropical fruits and the coconut climber

Between the spice trees the farm grows fruit, and the guide stops to cut whatever is in season: jackfruit, mango, passion fruit, soursop, starfruit, pineapple, papaya, rambutan or small sweet bananas, served on a banana leaf. Depending on the month you may see cocoa pods, breadfruit or the strange durian. Near the end of the walk one of the farm workers climbs a coconut palm barefoot, singing as he goes, and opens fresh coconuts for everyone to drink.

The fruit stop is a natural pause in the shade, and with a private guide it lasts as long as you wish. Children can be given a palm-leaf hat or basket woven on the spot. If you want to buy spices to take back, small packets of cloves, cinnamon, vanilla, curry mixes and spice soaps are sold at the farm, and the guide tells you which are freshest and how to store them.

Practical visit and the way there

How to get to a spice farm in Zanzibar is simple with this tour: our driver collects you at your hotel reception at the time you choose, with departures every hour between eight in the morning and two in the afternoon, and brings you back afterwards. The paths are flat earth and sand under tree shade, easy for most walkers, but they can be muddy after rain, so closed shoes or sturdy sandals are best. Mosquito repellent and a hat are useful, and light clothing that covers shoulders and knees is appreciated in the villages.

The tour is good all year because the farm is shaded; the best time to visit for fruit is the mango season from December to February, while cloves are harvested mainly from July to December. Morning departures are cooler. Many guests pair the spice farm with Stone Town or the Jozani forest on the same day, and we are happy to combine them.