Chumbe Island Resort - West Coast

Overview
Chumbe Island, situated a few kilometres offshore from Zanzibar, is a charming, rustic accommodation, top-class snorkelling and a shining example of sustainable tourism. Chumbe Island Coral Park is one of the most blissfully rustic and romantic places to stay in Africa. It's also one of the most environmentally proactive lodges in the world. Chumbe Island operates as a non-profit organisation with all the funds generated from tourism channelled straight back into the conservation and educational programmes. It's a highly successful model of sustainable tourism development. Chumbe Island has also won numerous environmental awards. The structures have been built using natural materials and have won numerous awards for their eco-friendly design. The main lodge was built in the shape of a giant clam over the ruins of the old lighthouse keeper's cottage. Besides the main lodge and seven bungalows, there's an old mosque, which the Swahili staff still use, and an abandoned lighthouse, which you can climb to admire the view.

Accommodation
• The seven bungalows, or eco-bandas, are set a reasonable distance apart from each other and only a few paces down a sandy path to the ocean.

• Each eco-banda has a lounge area, which is decorated with African art, an extremely comfortable hammock and some chairs. The lounge is also open, allowing the gentle ocean breezes in. Leading off the lounge is a small bathroom with a hot-water shower, toilet and basin.

• Since the eco-bandas were designed to have minimal impact on the environment, groundbreaking compost toilets are used. To economise on water and waste, the compost toilet handles sewage by quickly decomposing to natural fertilizer in the compost chamber below. All water is filtered and then pumped to the bathrooms through a solar-powered heating system.

Facilities
• Lights and hot water all run off solar power as there is no electricity on the island. To aid ventilation in hot weather the banda roofs have been shaped to act as wind funnels, ensuring you stay cool and comfortable while indoors on a hot day.

• Chumbe has all the attractions of an island paradise - glorious coral reefs, waving palm trees, thick coral-rag forests and sublime cuisine - but it's as far removed from a typical holiday resort as you'll get.

• It also offers the most pristine and colourful coral reefs you'll find on the East Coast with over 200 species of coral providing a sanctuary for more than 400 species of colourful fish.

Activities
• There are no cocktail bars, catamarans, swimming pools, televisions or even electricity at Chumbe, so. If you're looking for entertainment it's all provided courtesy of nature. The whole of Chumbe Island is a nature reserve and you may explore its beauties either under the competent guidance of their park rangers or at your leisure.

• Snorkel through our unique shallow water Reef Sanctuary or explore the Forest Reserve and historical monuments. Knowledgeable guides take guests on daily snorkelling and forest tours. Take an excursion out SCUBA diving the nearby reefs, or perhaps just allow yourself a lazy day watching dhows and outrigger boats go by

Dining
• This is a fantastic place to sample traditional Swahili cuisine. The food is delicious and plentiful. Fruit, vegetables and groceries are brought in from Zanzibar daily.

• Dishes include seafood and chicken, and there is always a good selection of vegetables cooked in delicious spices and coconut milk. Fresh bread is baked daily and fruit is served for dessert. Breakfast, served on a terrace, which overlooks the sea, is a memorable occasion.

Chumbe Island – Amani Tours View
Being a Marine Protected Area (MPA) the focal aim of the Chumbe Island Coral Park Project is to preserve Chumbe Island's exceptional environment. Therefore they have built accommodation based on the state-of-the-art of eco-architecture and eco-technology. There's only one small lodge accommodating no more than 14 people, so you've got the island almost to yourself. The only thing that's missing at Chumbe is a good sandy strip of beach, but with all the sun lounges and hammocks on which to laze about you'll hardly miss it. The staff at Chumbe is fantastic, providing all the individual attention you require. They also understand when you just want to be left alone to enjoy paradise with your partner. A visit to Chumbe, with its groundbreaking environmental policies, is guaranteed to make you reassess the way you live.