Zanzibar's northern tip — dhow-building village turned beach paradise with year-round swimming
Nungwi is the village at the northern tip of Zanzibar Island, long the center of traditional dhow boat-building on the Swahili Coast and now the beach destination of choice for those wanting to swim year-round — unlike the east coast beaches which dry out at low tide, Nungwi retains water at all tidal levels. The village's dhow yard still operates, with craftsmen building ocean-going vessels using centuries-old techniques.
Nungwi has been a center of dhow building on the Swahili Coast for centuries, supplying vessels for the Indian Ocean trade system that linked Arabia, India, Persia, and East Africa. The island became a British Protectorate in 1890; the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution overthrew the Arab sultanate, after which Zanzibar merged with mainland Tanganyika to form Tanzania.