Mangapwani Coral Cavern

Useful Information

Location:	On Zanzibar Island. 20km north of Zanzibar Town. From Zanzibar Town take main road through Bububu to Chuini, then turn left to Bumbwini. After 7km, in Mangapwani village, turn left towards the coast. After 1km turn left into a narrow dirt road.
Open:	no restrictions
Fee:	free
Classification:	Coral cave/Karst cave.
Light:	none.
Dimension:	L=300m.
Guided tours:	excursions to the nearby beach which include a visit to the cave can be booked at the hotels
Bibliography:	Michael Laumanns (2001): Tanzania 1994 - 2000, Berliner Höhlenkundliche Berichte, Volume 1, 67 pp, many b&w-photos and surveys, 4 annexes, Speläoclub Berlin, Berlin 2001, ISSN 1617-8572 abstract, Publications of the Speläoclub Berlin (SCB) Pete Rose (2005): Caving in Zanzibar, a Pathetic attempt, Belfry Bulletin (521) 15-16.
Address:
Last update:	$Date: 2010/05/19 23:25:38 $

Image: Michael Laumanns walking down the stairs into Mangapwani Coral Cavern.
© Daniel Gebauer

History


1873		official closure of the Slave Market, cave used as a secret hideout from which the slaves were illegaly led out to the sea through a secret passage.
1995		surveyed by Daniel Gebauer, Kaufmann, and Michael Laumanns.

Description

Mangapwani Coral Cavern is a large natural cave in a coral reef. It has a narrow entrance and a pool of fresh water at its lowest point. Mangapwani means Arab shore, maybe this area was called so because it was the property of a wealthy Arab landowner called Hamed Salim El Hathy who had many slaves working on his plantations.

The entrance to the cave is a collapsed part of the roof. A flight of stone steps leads through the entrance down into the cavern itself. Behind the narrow entrance a huge passage with a pool of fresh water at its lowest point starts. It is possible to follow the main passage for some time to the left. This passage also contains a bat colony. The steps at the entrance are the only improvement made to the cave, there are no paths and no light.

The early inhabitants of this part of the island knew this cave and used the pool to collect drinking water. But sometimes the knowledge got lost and the vegetation grew across the entrance.

The cavern was rediscovered by a young boy searching for a lost goat. Local people were able to use the water again, and Hamed Salim also sent his slaves regularly to collect the water for his own use. The water is used by the locals until present.

It has been suggested that the cavern may have been used as a hiding place for slaves, after the trade was officially abolished in 1873.

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