Afrinkong
Nature & Landscapes
Three Islands and a Claim
Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli, each volcanic, each different, and Mayotte disputed.
Islands · Afrinkong
Comoros
An active volcano, and the fish that came back from the dead.
Karthala is one of the most active volcanoes in the world with a crater four kilometres across, the coelacanth was found alive off these islands after eighty million years, and Moroni's stone town is the least visited Swahili port on the coast.
Where it is
Africa · Islands · Comoros
The land in brief
- Spans
- 20 km E–W, 60 km N–S
- Latitude
- 11°S to 12°S
- Borders
- None — it is an island
- Nearest land
- about 290 km
- Best time
- May to October, the dry season. Cyclones are possible from December to March.
Also in the islands
Cabo VerdeTen islands, and the mornaMadagascarAn island that evolved aloneMauritiusReef, sugar and the volcanic interiorSao Tome and PrincipeTwo volcanic islands and a lot of cocoaSeychellesGranite islands in the Indian Ocean
Compare Comoros with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
May to October, the dry season. Cyclones are possible from December to March.
01Highlights
What Comoros is known for.
Six of the twenty-seven, and the ones most people come for. The rest are below — and none of them is filler.
Nature & Landscapes
Wildlife
Livingstone's Fruit Bat
A metre and a half across, found on Anjouan and Moheli and nowhere else.
Mountains
The Volcanic Interior
Karthala at 2,361 metres on Grande Comore, and Ntringui on Anjouan.
Black Sand and White
Black volcanic sand on Grande Comore, and white on Moheli and Anjouan.
Forests & Rainforest
The Last Forest
Karthala's forest, and Moheli's, hold the bats, the flying fox and the endemic birds.
Swahili, and Ylang-Ylang
A Swahili island culture, and most of the world's ylang-ylang for perfume.
02Experiences
25 ways to spend the time.
Every country we cover works through the same twenty-seven categories, so you can hold two of them side by side and compare like with like rather than one brochure against another. Compare Comoros with another → The two not listed here are the hero picture and the case for going, which has a section of its own below.
Landscapes
- Three Islands and a ClaimGrande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli, each volcanic, each different, and Mayotte disputed.
- The Volcanic InteriorKarthala at 2,361 metres on Grande Comore, and Ntringui on Anjouan.
- Anjouan's CascadesThe Dziancoundre falls, and streams off the interior that run all year.
- No Rivers on Grande ComoreThe lava is too porous to hold a river — the water is in cisterns and Lake Sale.
- Black Sand and WhiteBlack volcanic sand on Grande Comore, and white on Moheli and Anjouan.
- The Last ForestKarthala's forest, and Moheli's, hold the bats, the flying fox and the endemic birds.
Wildlife
- Livingstone's Fruit BatA metre and a half across, found on Anjouan and Moheli and nowhere else.
- Moheli Marine ParkTurtles nesting in numbers, dugong, and humpbacks calving between July and October.
- Moheli's Community ParkThe marine park is run with the villages, and the turtle numbers have held because of it.
- Volcano and ReefKarthala overnight, and diving the drop-offs on the same trip.
People and culture
- Swahili, and Ylang-YlangA Swahili island culture, and most of the world's ylang-ylang for perfume.
- The Grand MariageThe anda — a marriage that confers social rank, and can take a decade to afford.
- The Grand Mariage SeasonWeddings run through the dry season and take over whole villages for days.
- Woodwork, Gold and EmbroideryCarved doors, gold wedding jewellery, and the embroidered kofia cap.
- Langouste and PilaoLobster off the reef, pilao rice with cardamom, and vanilla and clove in everything.
- Turtles and Shallow ReefMoheli's nesting beaches, and reef close enough in to snorkel from the sand.
- The Harbour at MoroniDhows unloading onto the rocks, and the mosque directly behind them.
Places
- Moroni and MutsamuduA volcanic harbour capital, and Anjouan's stone town under a citadel.
- Swahili StoneCoral-stone houses with carved doors, and the mosque architecture of the whole coast.
- The Medina of MoroniA Swahili stone town with the Old Friday Mosque on the harbour since 1427.
- Nothing Listed, Much StandingNo World Heritage sites, and Swahili stone towns on all three islands.
Ways to travel
- Climbing KarthalaOvernight from Boboni, camping on the rim, and down the next day.
- Small and SimpleGuesthouses and a few beach hotels. Nothing at the top end anywhere.
- Volcano and OceanKarthala's rim at first light, with the Indian Ocean on every side of it.
- The CoelacanthCaught off these islands in 1938, having been extinct for eighty million years.
03Why go
The case for Comoros.
Why Visit This Country
Why Comoros
An active volcano, a living fossil, and a Swahili stone town nobody visits.
Hidden Gems
The Coelacanth
Caught off these islands in 1938, having been extinct for eighty million years.
Eco Tourism
Moheli's Community Park
The marine park is run with the villages, and the turtle numbers have held because of it.
Heritage
Nothing Listed, Much Standing
No World Heritage sites, and Swahili stone towns on all three islands.
04Go deeper
All of Comoros, four ways in.
Who would take youAfrinkong
The ground is ours right across Africa: your vehicle, your driver for the whole journey, and the days shaped around what you came for.
In Cameroon, Uganda and Namibia you travel with companies of our own as well.
Plan your journey →
Begin
Your Comoros starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.