Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park is the largest remnant of the original forest that once covered most of the island of Zanzibar.

The forest is home to a wide range of endemic animals that were once commonly found across the island: the diademed guenon, the suni antelope and, currently, the park’s biggest attraction, the red gueréza.

In addition to the forest, the park also contains several interconnected habitats: swamps, evergreen scrub, mangroves and grassy plains.

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• A visit to Jozani National Park takes around 60–75 minutes
• You cannot get here by public transport
• I recommend paying the official entrance fee of 12 usd, which also includes a guide
• The walks are easy and short (maximum 2 km)

Red-backed monkeys

Most tourists head to Jozani to see the monkeys with their unusual colouring – black faces and red-backed coats. They are called red guerezas and you will often spot them high up in the treetops.

There aren’t enough monkeys in Jozani Forest to guarantee that you’ll see them.

A guide will be a great help in this regard, and is compulsory if you wish to visit the rainforest section of the national park. From personal experience, I highly recommend a guide – without one, I wouldn’t have had a clue where to look for the monkeys and wouldn’t have seen any.

Discover the mangrove forests

The southern part of the national park lies in a narrow sea inlet, where conditions are ideal for mangrove forests. There is a footpath for tourists, about 400 metres long, which runs directly above the water and the strangely shaped roots.

You can enter this part of the national park on your own free of charge, especially if you arrive in a hire car.

Taxi drivers or organised tours will always take you to the national park’s reception first, where you’ll have to pay for a guide and a walk through the rainforest section.

A walk through the primeval forest

The main part of the national park is covered by rainforest – partly endemic, with huge ancient trees, and partly planted during the 19th and 20th centuries.

To go for a walk through the rainforest, you must hire a guide at the national park reception, who will also provide commentary.

Admission fees and opening hours

Jozani Forest is open every day from 7.30 am to 5.00 pm.

The official admission fee also includes a guide who will provide commentary and take you through the rainforest, the mangrove swamps and, in all likelihood, spot some monkeys.

The price is12 usd / 30 000 tzs.

The walk through the rainforest takes about 20 minutes, as does the walk along the boardwalk above the mangrove swamps.

How to get there

The only way to get to Jozani National Park on your own is by hire car.

Dala-dala buses do not stop here.

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Most tourists visit as part of organised tours, which run to Jozani National Park from all over Zanzibar and often include a stop in Stone Town at a spice farm or elsewhere on the island.

Prices range from 50 usd to 100 usd depending on the length of the trip.

You can book all trips in Zanzibar via the website getyourguide.com, where most local agencies operate.

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