From the beach of Stone Town you see three islands. One of those is called Prison Island, a beautiful place to visit. Start with a boat trip for 20 minutes from Stone Town towards Prison Island. Before you reach the Island, the boat will stop above a colorful coral where you have the possibility to snorkel.

 

After snorkeling the boat will moor on Changuu Island. This island was used as a penitentiary for rebel slaves by the sultans from the 1860s until the end of the slave trade. After, the British began building a prison on the island under the guidance of First Governor, Lloyd Matthews. This was completed in 1894. However, the ‘prison’ was only ever used as a quarantine center for possible yellow-fever victims, and even than it was hardly used as that. Don’t be deceived by the word ‘prison’ it is the island’s English name, the significance of the island, like so many of Zanzibar’s cultural sites, has been made little of and the ‘prison that never was’ now houses a resort and restaurant.