Jozani is Zanzibar's forest park, and the reliable place to see the Zanzibar red colobus. It is a morning, not a day, and it is worth doing once.
- Where
- South-central Unguja
- Kind
- Forest national park
- Known for
- Zanzibar red colobus
- A usual visit
- A morning
- Also
- The mangrove boardwalk toward Chwaka Bay
- Combine with
- An east-coast beach
The forest in the middle of the island
Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park protects a groundwater forest and a reach of mangrove on the road between Stone Town and the south-east coast. The Zanzibar red colobus, a monkey found only on this island, is the reason the minibuses stop. There is also a boarded path into the mangroves, which is cooler and stranger than it looks from the car park, and Sykes' monkeys that are bolder than the colobus.
It is a managed visit: a fee, a guide, a path. It takes about two hours if you walk both the forest and the boardwalk. It does not take a day.
On the way to the beach
The sensible sequence is airport or Stone Town, then Jozani, then an east-coast beach such as Paje. Doing it as a standalone trip from Nungwi means crossing the island twice. Possible, and a waste of a swimming day if you are only here for four nights.
When to go
Morning, in any month you are already on the island. After rain the forest is vivid and the path is muddy. Midday is hot and the monkeys are often resting high up. The month chart is Zanzibar's, because nobody flies here only for Jozani.
BestGoodQuieter or wetter
Packages that include Jozani Forest, Zanzibar
We do not have a set departure printed for Jozani Forest, Zanzibar yet. Tell us your dates and how many of you are travelling, and we will say whether it belongs in the trip.
All safarisQuestions people ask
- The red colobus in this forest are used to people and a morning visit usually finds them. They are still wild animals having a day. Give it an hour, go in the morning, and do not treat a guide's fee as a refundable sighting voucher.
- Yes. The paths are short. Ask children not to feed or touch. The monkeys are not pets, and food from visitors is how they get aggressive.
References
The facts on this page were checked against these sources and written in our own words. Gate hours, fees and wildlife numbers change. We link the authority instead of printing a figure that will go stale.
Last reviewed 2026-10-28.
