“This still-working lighthouse on Zanzibar's northern tip was built by the British in the 1880s, and the village around it still builds wooden dhows by hand on the sand.”
About Nungwi Lighthouse
The British built the Nungwi light during their protectorate over Zanzibar to guide ships around the island's northern cape, a hazard on the route between the Zanzibar Channel and the open ocean. It has operated ever since. The surrounding village of Nungwi remained a centre of traditional dhow construction, a craft still practised on its beaches.
What Nungwi Lighthouse is
Nungwi Lighthouse stands at the northern tip of Zanzibar, marking the point where the island narrows to a sandy headland between the Indian Ocean on both sides. Built under British rule in the late 19th century, it still guides shipping past the cape, rising above one of Zanzibar's most famous beach villages and dhow-building communities.
Nungwi Lighthouse stands at the northern tip of Zanzibar, marking the point where the island narrows to a sandy headland between the Indian Ocean on both sides.
A Working Relic of Empire
The lighthouse dates from the British protectorate era, part of a chain of navigational lights the British built along the East African coast to protect the busy shipping lanes that carried spices, ivory and trade goods. It remains an active, restricted navigational station, so visitors usually admire it from outside rather than climbing it. Around it, Nungwi village still builds traditional wooden dhows by hand on the beach.
The Experience
The lighthouse itself is a working station and usually closed to visitors, so the appeal is the setting: a sandy point where you can watch shipwrights shaping dhows by hand, swim in clear water on both sides of the cape, and see one of Zanzibar's best sunsets. The contrast of the colonial-era tower and the timeless boatbuilding is the draw.
Why It Matters
Nungwi Lighthouse is a small monument to the British navigational network that once secured the East African trade routes. Set against a village that still builds dhows in the centuries-old way, it captures the meeting of imperial history and enduring Swahili coastal life at the island's tip.
Nungwi Lighthouse is a small monument to the British navigational network that once secured the East African trade routes.
Why Visit
Zanzibar's northern cape, a working colonial-era lighthouse, traditional dhow-building on the beach and some of the island's finest swimming and sunsets.
✦ Insider Tips
- 1
The lighthouse is an active station, usually viewed from outside only.
- 2
Watch the traditional dhow-builders working on the beach nearby.
- 3
Nungwi has less extreme tides than the east coast, so swimming is reliable.
- 4
Stay for sunset, among the best on the island from this northern point.
