The island is also known as Changuu, the Swahili name for a fish which is abundant in the surrounding waters, and its total length is 800m.
Beneath its pristine beauty, Prison Island has a sinister history. Prison Island was uninhabited until the 1860s when the first Sultan of Zanzibar, Majid bin Said, gifted it to 2 Arab slave owners who used the island as a prison for rebellious slaves. In 1893, British First Minister, Lloyd Matthews, acquired the island and planned to build a prison on this tranquil outpost. Although the building work was completed in 1894, the prison never housed any inmates.
In the 1920s, Prison Island was transformed into a quarantine island that served British territories in East Africa. The prison buildings were converted into a hospital, and patients were monitored for 1-2 weeks before they were permitted to leave.
Once on the island, you could feed and pet the tortoises, if you have time you may also like to take a stroll through the forested interior where you will see a wide variety of birds, colorful peacocks, bats, and beautiful butterflies. Keep your eyes peeled too for the shy and elusive Duikers – an unusual tiny antelope species.
