Apart from its white beaches, Zanzibar is also famous for growing spices, fruits and vegetables.

The island has a huge number of spice farms. I visited the small local Issa Spice Farm in the north of the island between Matemwe and Nungwi.

In the chapter What to do in Zanzibar we have a list of all the spice farms that allow tours for tourists.

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What will you see at a spice farm?

Issa Spice Farm is a small farm connected to the local primary school and is less touristy than the farms in the south of Zanzibar.

A tour of the farm takes about 60 minutes and is always combined with a tour given directly by the farm owner, Mr Issa.

You will see different types of spices such as cinnamon, black pepper or turmeric, as well as fruit trees, vanilla and many other plants.

The spice farms may not be as visually appealing as say the rice terraces in Bali or the vanilla plantations in Mauritius, but the interpretation was very interesting and overall I would definitely recommend a visit!

At the end you can buy spice samples at a small stall at prices ranging from 3 usd to 6 usd.

Admission and opening hours

Issa Spice Farm is open daily from 8am-6pm.

The price of admission is 10 usd or 25 000 tzs and can only be paid in cash.

How to get there

The farm is located on the main road about 20km from Nungwi, 8km from Matemwe and 40km from Stone Town.

You can park your car right outside the entrance in an improvised free car park.

You can also go here by taxi, but it's a good idea to arrange a time with the taxi driver to pick you up as there are no taxis available in the area where Issa Spice Farm is located.

What to see around

Discover all the places to see in Zanzibar.