Ndzuwani · 14 places
Stone medinas, spice markets, ylang-ylang distilleries, waterfalls and beaches of the south: the best addresses on the perfume island.
Anjouan is the island of rivers and dizzying slopes. Mutsamudu, its capital, is the ideal starting point; Domoni and the south are reached by a winding road, and the summits on foot, with a guide.
Mutsamudu
Anjouan produces about 70% of the Union's cloves, and a good share of its ylang-ylang and vanilla. On the capital's stalls: spices, fruit, fresh fish, printed fabrics and carved wooden objects.
Tip: During the clove season, the cloves dry in the sun on mats in front of the houses: a fragrant sight not to be missed.
Bambao, Ouani and the island's villages
Anjouan, “the perfume island”, has been distilling ylang-ylang since the 19th century. The flowers, picked at dawn, spend long hours in the still: you can follow the picking, then the distillation, right through to the bottle of essential oil.
Tip: Arrive early in the morning for the picking, and buy the oil directly from the producer.
South of the island
About 120 metres of fine sand between rocks and vegetation: Anjouan's busiest beach, with a small restaurant and one of the island's few hotels.
Tip: At weekends, families gather here: come on a weekday for more peace and quiet.
Western tip of the island
The village of Bimbini opens onto a wide lagoon facing Mohéli. La Selle islet and its white-sand beaches can be reached by boat, or on foot at very low spring tides.
Tip: Check the tide times before setting off on foot.
Centre of the island
A crater lake perched at about 900 m in the forest, on the way to the island's highest point (1,595 m). A classic hike links Mchakojou to Lingoni via the lake. Read the legend: Lake Dzialandzé, the water of the spirits.
Tip: A guide is essential: the trails are poorly marked and often in the mist.
See the place pageNear the village of Tatinga
A high waterfall in a bowl of greenery: one of the emblematic landscapes of Anjouan, the island of rivers.
Tip: The trails are slippery in the rainy season: go with a guide.
South-east of the island
A densely populated high farming plateau, with fields and copses as far as the eye can see, and a land of traditions: this is where the trimba, the festival of the pact with the djinns, is celebrated.
Tip: Festival dates vary: ask locally.
South coast
Around Pomoni, forests and rivers are home to Livingstone's fruit bat, a giant bat endemic to Anjouan and Mohéli, and the mongoose lemur.
Tip: The fruit bats are best seen at the end of the day, when they leave their roosting trees.
Centre and north of the island
A hike popular with Anjouanese people, through crops, clove trees and upland forests, with views over both coasts of the island.
Tip: Set off at dawn, in the dry season (May to October).
Mutsamudu
Narrow alleys, houses with carved wooden doors, stone stairways: the old town is explored on foot up to the citadel, built between 1782 and 1789, which overlooks the bay.
Tip: Climb up to the citadel at the end of the day for the view over the harbour and the medina.
See the place page
East coast
The island's former capital: aristocratic houses with doors adorned with Koranic motifs, carved verandas, ancient tombs. Its craftspeople excel in red pottery and palm-leaf basketry. Read: The seven ships of Shiraz.
See the place pageBambao Mtsanga, east coast
In the mid-19th century, Sultan Abdallah III, known as Mawana, had this palace built facing the sea, in a park, near his sugar cane plantations and his sugar mill, later converted into a perfume distillery. The palace is deteriorating: fragile heritage, to be visited with respect.
Sima peninsula, west of the island
The Ziarani-Sima site, occupied from the 9th century, preserves the remains of one of the oldest stone mosques in the archipelago (11th–12th century), rebuilt in the 15th century; a mihrab with cord motifs bears witness to it. Read: Islam and the Swahili world.
Tip: The site has no visitor facilities: go with a local resident.
North-east, near the airport
The airport town is also the town of the nkoma, a festival celebrated every three years in memory of the founding families' pact with the djinns: The pact of Basra.
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