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Monday 08:00 - 17:00 Tuesday 08:00 - 17:00 Wednesday 08:00 - 17:00 Thursday 08:00 - 17:00 Friday 08:00 - 17:00 Saturday 08:30 - 14:00 Sunday 08:30 - 14:00

ZanTours

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Welcome to the Official page of Zanzibar's leading DMC - ZanTours! To be Different means History

ZanTours began in 1997 as a transfer company.

ZanTours is a Zanzibar based tour operator providing luxury to budget travel for both Independent Travellers and Group Trips of all sizes. ZanTours has been the premiere tour operator of Zanzibar since 1997. Why Choose ZanTours

ZanTours will show you the best of Zanzibar. With over 15 years in operation, we will exceed your expectations and deliver the travel experience of a lifetime. In short, you may only visit Zanzibar once in your lifetime – travel with ZanTours to make sure you do it right. We offer uncommon tours providing you a fresh perspective and the chance to learn about the history and culture of the islands. The ZanTour team is creative and will customize your options to best suit you. Our connections to the local community ensure you get the best possible experience from those who know the island best. You may only visit Zanzibar once in your lifetime – travel with ZanTours to make sure you do it right. Expertise

At ZanTours, we prioritize hiring locally and offer regular training opportunities to our staff. Our Zanzibar Travel Specialists know the region better than any outsider ever could and are passionate about sharing Zanzibar with our visitors. In the past 16 years, we have learned and grown into the largest tour operator on the island. Reputation and Quality

We are known for our local expertise, smooth service, and personalized attention. We are proud to say that over 75% of our business is repeat or referral, demonstrating our credibility and quality service. Partners

We are supported by a strong network of partners throughout the region. Our sister company, ZanAir, connects Zanzibar to several special destinations in East Africa. Support and Security

ZanTours offers 24-hour roadside assistance and a dedicated Travel Specialist to ensure you have everything you need throughout your stay. You always have phone and email access to us. Have peace of mind knowing that if something goes wrong with your arrangements, well-being or health, we’re on it immediately.

- See more at: www.zantours.com

05/02/2026

Spice Legacy

Long before Zanzibar became a tropical idyll, it was the beating heart of the global spice trade. Cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, black pepper, and vanilla shaped the island’s economy — and its destiny.

Introduced and cultivated under Omani rule in the 19th century, cloves in particular transformed Zanzibar into the world’s leading producer, drawing merchants from Arabia, India, and Europe. These spices were more than flavour; they were currency, power, and global connection.

Spice farms still dot the island today, quiet reminders of a time when Zanzibar was known as the “Spice Islands.” The scents linger in the air, in local cuisine, and in Swahili culture itself — layered, complex, and deeply rooted.

Zanzibar’s history can be read not just in stone and coral rag, but in aroma.

🌿 A legacy written in spice.

03/02/2026

Red Colobus — Zanzibar’s Own

Found only on Zanzibar, the Zanzibar red colobus is one of Africa’s most distinctive — and most endangered — primates. Isolated on the island for thousands of years, it evolved into a species found nowhere else on Earth.

With their expressive faces, pale crowns, and russet backs, red colobus monkeys are instantly recognisable. They live in social groups and feed mainly on leaves, seeds, and unripe fruit — a diet that requires a specialised, slow digestive system.

Unlike many primates, red colobus lack opposable thumbs, giving their hands a hook-like shape adapted for life in the trees. They are also remarkably tolerant of human presence, often seen moving calmly through forest canopies and even along the edges of villages.

Yet their future remains fragile. Habitat loss, road accidents, and historical persecution have sharply reduced their numbers. Today, places like Jozani Forest play a critical role in protecting what remains of this unique species.

They are not just wildlife — they are part of Zanzibar’s identity.

🐒 Endemic. Vulnerable. Irreplaceable.

02/02/2026

Where Gorillas Still Roam Free

In the dense rainforests of Central and East Africa, a few remaining strongholds still shelter one of our closest relatives. Here, gorillas continue to roam free — not in captivity, not behind barriers, but within protected ecosystems shaped by centuries of balance.

Beyond their presence, it is their extraordinary characteristics that make gorillas so remarkable:

Gorillas share over 98% of their DNA with humans, expressing complex emotions such as grief, joy, and empathy. Family bonds are strong; infants stay with their mothers for years, and groups are led by a dominant silverback whose role is protector, mediator, and decision-maker.

Each gorilla has a unique nose print, as individual as a human fingerprint, allowing researchers to identify them without tags or collars. They communicate using more than 25 distinct vocalisations, from soft hums during feeding to chest beats that travel through dense forest as low-frequency sound.

Despite their strength, gorillas are largely gentle vegetarians, spending up to half their day feeding on leaves, shoots, and fruit — shaping forest regeneration as they move. Their slow reproduction rate — one infant every four to six years — is precisely why every birth matters.

That these highly intelligent, deeply social beings still survive in the wild is no coincidence. It is the result of deliberate protection — and a reminder of what can be preserved when choice meets responsibility.

🦍 Extraordinary lives, quietly protected.

29/01/2026

The Air Feels Fresher — Smoking Ban

In Rwanda, public health is treated as a shared responsibility. A nationwide smoking ban in public spaces — including restaurants, bars, offices, and public transport — has quietly reshaped daily life.

The result is subtle but unmistakable: cleaner air, healthier public spaces, and a stronger culture of respect for others. The policy goes beyond prohibition; it reflects a broader national approach where prevention matters more than reaction.

Clear regulations, consistent enforcement, and public awareness have made the ban widely accepted — not as a restriction, but as a standard. Visitors notice it quickly. Residents take it for granted.

Sometimes progress isn’t loud or dramatic. Sometimes, it simply lets everyone breathe a little easier.

🌿 Clean air as public policy.

27/01/2026

Kwita Izina — Naming Gorillas

Each year in Rwanda, conservation is celebrated not in silence, but with ceremony. Kwita Izina, the traditional naming of mountain gorilla babies, is both a cultural event and a conservation milestone.

Inspired by the Rwandan custom of naming newborn children, the ceremony welcomes each young gorilla into the world — acknowledging its place within a carefully protected population. Scientists, rangers, community leaders, and international conservation partners gather to mark new births and honour those who safeguard them.

But Kwita Izina is more than symbolism. Naming reinforces accountability, strengthens monitoring, and highlights the shared responsibility between people and wildlife. Every name carries a story — of survival, protection, and hope.

In Rwanda, conservation is personal. Every life is counted. Every name matters.

🦍 A name that protects a future.

26/01/2026

Tree-Climbing Lions — Ishasha

In the remote Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, lions defy expectation. Instead of resting in tall grass, they climb — stretching across the branches of ancient fig trees, suspended above the savannah.

This rare behaviour, seen in only a few places in Africa, is thought to help the lions escape ground heat, avoid insects, and gain a better vantage point over the plains below. In Ishasha, it has become a defining sight — lions lounging like leopards, unbothered and unmistakably at ease.

These are not trained habits or learned tricks. They are adaptations — quiet reminders that wildlife does not follow our rules or assumptions.

In Ishasha, even the king of beasts finds new ways to rise above the ordinary.

🦁 Lions that climb — because nature allows it.

22/01/2026

World’s Smallest Church — Biku Hill

Perched quietly on Biku Hill near Asmara, Eritrea, stands one of the world’s smallest churches — a structure so modest it can be missed with a single step, yet rich in meaning.

Carved directly into the rock, this tiny place of worship reflects a long tradition of rock-hewn churches found across the Horn of Africa. Built not for grandeur but for devotion, it was created as a space for solitary prayer, humility, and reflection — where faith required no walls, no ornament, no scale.

Only a handful of people can fit inside at once. There is no spectacle, no drama. And that is precisely the point.

In a world that often equates importance with size, Biku Hill reminds us that significance is measured differently — by intention, not dimension.

⛪ Small in scale. Vast in spirit.

20/01/2026

Half the Mountain Gorillas

High in the mist-covered forests of the Virunga Mountains lives one of conservation’s quiet success stories. Today, more than half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas are found in Rwanda and Uganda — with a small population extending into the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Once pushed to the edge of extinction by habitat loss, poaching, and conflict, mountain gorillas have become a rare example of a species slowly recovering. This turnaround is the result of decades of protection, scientific research, and community-led conservation — proving that human presence does not always mean destruction.

Strictly managed gorilla trekking allows visitors limited, respectful access while funding national parks and supporting local livelihoods. The result is a powerful balance: wildlife protected, communities empowered, and ecosystems preserved.

In these forests, conservation is not an abstract idea — it is a daily commitment, shared between people and one of our closest relatives.

🦍 A fragile population — protected by purpose.

19/01/2026

Lake Natron — Alkaline Beauty

At first glance, Lake Natron looks otherworldly — its waters shifting between crimson and silver, its shores edged with salt and mineral crusts. Set beneath the shadow of Ol Doinyo Lengai in northern Tanzania, this lake is one of Africa’s most extreme — and most misunderstood — landscapes.

Lake Natron is highly alkaline, rich in sodium carbonate and other minerals that make its waters inhospitable to most life. Yet for one species, it is a sanctuary. Each year, thousands of lesser flamingos gather here to breed, protected by conditions too harsh for predators to survive.

The same minerals that create Natron’s striking colours can preserve animals in stone-like forms, giving rise to myths of a “petrifying lake.” In reality, it is not death that defines Natron — but resilience.

In a place where survival demands perfect adaptation, life doesn’t just endure — it thrives.

🦩 A lake too harsh for most, essential for some.

NaturalWonder HiddenAfrica Flamingos ExtremeEnvironments TravelWithPurpose

15/01/2026

Laetoli — 3.6M-Year Footprints

Hidden beneath layers of ancient volcanic ash in northern Tanzania lies one of the most profound stories ever discovered — not carved in stone, but pressed gently into the earth.

At Laetoli, a trail of footprints frozen in time dates back 3.6 million years. Left by early hominins walking across soft ash after a volcanic eruption, these impressions reveal something extraordinary: our ancestors were already walking upright, side by side, long before tools, cities, or language.

Discovered by Mary Leakey in the 1970s, the footprints show a human-like stride — heel first, then toe — unmistakable evidence of bipedal movement. They quietly rewrote what we thought we knew about human evolution: walking came before big brains.

Laetoli is not loud or monumental. There are no towering ruins. Yet few places on Earth speak more powerfully about who we are — and how far we’ve come.

From ash to ancestry, Laetoli reminds us that the journey of humanity began with a single step.

👣 Where humanity first walked upright.

13/01/2026

Swahili — A Language That Unites

Across East Africa, one language flows effortlessly across borders, cultures, and coastlines: Swahili.

Born along the Indian Ocean trade routes, Swahili blends African roots with Arabic, Persian, and later European influences — a living language shaped by centuries of exchange.

Today, Swahili is spoken by over 100 million people and serves as a powerful unifying force across Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and far beyond. In Tanzania especially, it became a cornerstone of national identity — a shared language that connects dozens of ethnic communities without erasing their individuality.

You hear it everywhere: in markets, on buses, in classrooms, and in everyday greetings. Simple, expressive, and inclusive, Swahili proves that language doesn’t just communicate — it connects.

🗣️ One language. Many cultures. A shared rhythm.

11/01/2026

Lake Turkana — The Desert’s Emerald

In the far north of Kenya, where the land turns dry and dramatic, lies a surprise of color and life: Lake Turkana.
Often called “The Jade Sea,” this vast lake shimmers in shades of turquoise and green, standing in striking contrast to the surrounding desert landscapes and volcanic terrain.

Lake Turkana is the largest permanent desert lake in the world and one of the most remote bodies of water in Africa. Its shores are home to ancient cultures, rare wildlife, and landscapes that feel almost prehistoric — a place where humanity’s earliest footsteps were once etched into the earth.

Harsh yet beautiful, isolated yet alive, Lake Turkana reminds us that nature doesn’t always follow expectations. Sometimes, the most vibrant places are found where you least expect them.

💎 An emerald in the desert — shaped by time, wind, and resilience.

Address

Airport Road
Zanzibar
2560

Opening Hours

Monday	08:00 - 17:00
Tuesday	08:00 - 17:00
Wednesday	08:00 - 17:00
Thursday	08:00 - 17:00
Friday	08:00 - 17:00
Saturday	08:30 - 14:00
Sunday	08:30 - 14:00

Website

http://www.zantours.com/

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