Ngezi Forest Reserve Nature Walk

Ngezi Forest Reserve, on the far-northern Kigomasha Peninsula, is one of the last substantial stands of indigenous forest left on Pemba Island — dense, humid, and markedly different in character from the drier scrubland and plantation country found elsewhere on the island. Visits are led by reserve naturalist guides (some English-speaking) along one of two marked routes: the shorter Joshi Trail, good for early-morning and late-afternoon sightings of Zanzibar red colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, and blue duiker, and the longer Taufiki Trail, which pushes north through denser forest toward Vumawimbi Beach.

The reserve is also one of the only places to reliably see two Pemba endemics: the Pemba flying fox, a large fruit bat found nowhere else on earth, and the Pemba scops owl. Dedicated bat and night-bird walks are offered in addition to the standard daytime trails, giving a genuinely different experience from a daytime visit.

Because the reserve is managed by the Department of Forestry rather than a single tour operator, access is straightforward but always guided — independent off-trail walking isn't permitted. The forest is at its driest and most walkable June–October and December–February; wetter months bring heavier undergrowth and muddier trails but also more active birdlife.