Pemba lies north of Unguja and is a genuinely different place: hilly, densely green, and largely undeveloped for tourism. It produces the majority of Zanzibar’s cloves, and the plantation landscape defines the interior.
Diving is the principal draw. The Pemba Channel drops away steeply very close to shore, producing wall dives with excellent visibility and large pelagics that Unguja cannot match. Misali Island, on the west coast, sits inside a conservation area with reefs in outstanding condition and beaches where turtles nest.
Culturally Pemba has a strong reputation across the region for traditional medicine and ritual practice, and the island remains far more conservative than Unguja. Ras Mkumbuu holds the ruins of a Swahili settlement dating from the 14th century.