GUIDE ON KILWA IN TANZANIA

A coastal region on the Indian Ocean, Kilwa is located about 186 miles (300 kilometers) from Dar es Salaam in the eastern coast of Tanzania. It is divided into various small settlements which include Kilwa Masoko, Kivinje, and Kisiwani with Sanje Ya Kiti and Songo Mnara. Kilwa was once a prominent trading hub on Africa’s east coast. It was first established as a port of the Swahili civilization at the start of the 9th century and later served as a busy and very wealthy commercial center.

Africa’s natural treasures were very much in demand in the outside world, and yesteryear trading caravans carrying these valued commodities such as tusker ivory, rhino horn, bee wax, gum resins, sperm whales ambergris, shells from terrestrial tortoises and sea turtles, skins and furs as well as human slave cargo used the storehouses in Kilwa to stock them before they were transported to distant countries in wooden dhows.



Kilwa was also the meeting ground for traders traveling in Africa and carting commodities from regions neighboring Tanganyika at that time. They brought precious gold reserves from Zimbabwe to Kilwa via Sofala that is now in Mozambique. Goods such as Indian linen and exquisite Chinese porcelain were also part of the commodities traded here and dispatched to other locations. Then there were the cowrie seashells, fiber cloth and vibrant beads that were highly appreciated by the people living in the inner regions of Africa.

Kilwa Masoko is a principal town in the Kilwa district of Lindi, and still has a lively market, though not at the same scale as its past. It is a peaceful town with stunning unadulterated beaches and is inhabited by many fishing communities in the region. Today, history devotees use it as a stopover when touring the Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Ruins of Songo Mnara, both of which have been declared by the UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.



Other than these, Kilwa also has underwater archaeological sites that are sometimes explored by scientists from the British Institute in Eastern Africa, University of St Andrews and University of Dar es Salaam. You will discover that there is a lot you can do on your Kilwa seashore tour with AfricanMecca. Aside from the historical sites, you could visit the different beaches and surrounding idyllic islands like Fanjove with their lush tropical flora.

You could also explore the marine world around Kilwa by taking diving and snorkeling trips to its coral reefs and also in the deep waters where you could spot dolphins and whales. If you are a seafood connoisseur, you cannot find a better locale than Kilwa.



Try the freshest bounty of the Indian Ocean in the form of lobster, prawns, octopus, crab and calamari. Or better still, you could catch them yourself. The local fisher folk will be happy to let you accompany them on one of their fishing forays and teach you their traditional techniques. There are also water routes that take you inland, and these are strategic sites for viewing hippos, crocodiles and rarely, dugongs.

To view a more varied wildlife world, you could take a photographic safari to the premier Tanzanian reserves and parks such as Selous, Ruaha, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, to name a few. For a glimpse of Kilwa’s colonial history, do visit the Kilwa Kivinje on your antiquity trip. The Germans colonialists set up a governing base here during their time in Tanganyika – pre-Tanzania. And for an insight into the latest research being carried out, you could stop by at the KIYODEA Research Center.