Pangani

Pangani stands where the Pangani river reaches the sea, and it was for a period one of the most important places on the coast: the terminus of caravan routes from the interior, a shipping point for ivory and enslaved people in the nineteenth century, and later a sisal port. The trade moved on and the town went quiet, leaving carved doors, coral-block houses, a customs building and a German boma along the waterfront, and a hand-hauled ferry crossing the river.

Background

The town lies 45 kilometres south of Tanga where the Pangani River, its namesake, meets the sea, and it is the largest settlement in Pangani District, spread over the wards of Pangani Mashariki and Pangani Magharibi. Farming villages using iron had appeared in the area by 600-1000 C.E., if not earlier. Surveys have found 18 Swahili sites from 1250-1550 C.E., including Mnyongeni, Mtakani and Kumbamtoni. On the bluffs just north of town, Muhembo, now a Tanzanian National Historic Site, keeps traces of small Swahili settlements of the 15th century, and by 1400 C.E. its villagers were building in coral and praying in mosques. Of the beads excavated at Muhembo, 92 of 108 are foreign glass.

Source: Wikipedia, "Pangani"

Highlights

• The carved doors - Swahili and Indian doorways surviving on the old houses.
• The waterfront buildings - the customs house, boma and merchant houses along the river.
• The river ferry - the crossing worked between the two banks.
• The beaches - quiet sand north and south of the river mouth.

When to go

June to February; the long rains from March to May are heavy on this coast. The dry season is best for the beaches. Ramadan changes the rhythm of the town.

Before you go

The town is run down and many historic buildings are decaying without restoration. There is very little formal interpretation of the history. Facilities are basic and transport is slow.

Nearby

Tanga is north, and Saadani is south.

Key facts