Zanzibar: Kiwengwa Caves

We were looking for something to do on the way back to Stonetown from Matemwe Beach and we saw that Kiwengwa Caves were nearby. The destination did not seem very popular and our taxi driver wasn't familiar with it. He tried to talk us into going to another cave but relented when I told him we should just check it out.

The caves were used historically for a variety of reason, including, according to the guide, hideouts for people during war time and prisoners and slaves awaiting transport. The local forest area was a huge resource for local people but the use was unsustainable and as a result, the caves and forest were gazetted as the Kiwengwa-Pongwe Forest Reserve in 2005. The cave constructed the walkways and other infrastructure in 2009.

We were really impressed by the caves for their length and uniqueness. There are two passageways, a north and a south. The north side goes 200+ meters in and is full of bats which are cool to see and hear fluttering around. They are a small variety and seemingly harmless. We did see some pretty gigantic spiders which the guide claims are dangerous. Even when we reached the end there was space to continue if one wanted to crawl.

On the south side there were stunning natural holes in the ceiling offering a window to the forest. The light coming into the darkness was stunningly beautiful and roots of trees had grown through the top of the cave in several places. It was another 200 or so meters and we visited two separate chambers in that area.

The excursion did not take very long but was totally worthwhile. The guide had a few torches but they were low on battery and only a few worked well, so if you go it's best to bring your own head torch!