The Aiyana Resort on Pemba Island in Tanzania is a peaceful beach vacation alternative to Zanzibar.
Brianna Randall
On a warm evening on Pemba Island in the Zanzibar Archipelago, a dozen guests dined beside us on the beach while the sunset glowed gold on the Indian Ocean. My kids devoured their barbecued tiger prawns. I admired the centerpiece of bougainvillea, plumeria and cloves. As the stars came out, the founder of The Aiyana resort, Ashok Sungkur, 74, offered us a platter piled high with mahi, caught that morning just beyond the reef.
“I made the spice rub myself,” he told us. Although Ashok employs capable staff from the nearby community of Makangale, he likes to participate in daily tasks that make the resort “a sanctuary of art and nature”. Before dinner Ashok arranged a winding trail of flower petals across the sand leading to the tables, one of countless flourishes that make The Aiyana feel magical.
“There’s a frequency here that guests tap into,” his son, Max Sungkur, general manager of the resort, told me during our stay. “It’s like you’re inside a painting—a painting with a heartbeat.”
Ashok Sungkur (right) designed and built The Aiyana resort on Pemba Island. His son, Max Sungkur, (left) is the general manager.
© Rob Roberts
The Aiyana is the Sungkurs' first foray into building, owning and managing a hotel—and it's a masterpiece. Both Max and Ashok are artists by trade, hoteliers secondarily. Max’s painted canvases and wood-and-iron sculptures adorn each of The Aiyana’s 30 oceanfront villas as well as the resort’s eclectic gallery. Ashok designed each luxurious villa himself, as well as the spectacular gardens that permeate the resort with vibrant colors and perfume.
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The Sungkurs’ philosophy for managing their resort on Pemba is simple: prioritize community. “Africa is not coconut and sand—Africa is people,” Ashok said. “This place is all about love."
The magic and beauty at The Aiyana are an extension of Pemba Island itself. Just a 20-minute flight north of Zanzibar, Pemba feels worlds away from the main island’s crowded beaches. Pemba is lush, peaceful and deeply traditional. We chose the destination after our wildlife safari in Tanzania because we wanted a quiet, off-the-beaten path beach vacation.
Pemba Island has only a handful of resorts, mainly on the north end, but it offers boatloads of character and culture. School children wave on dirt roads as they walk to school. Women tend seaweed farms in the shallows. Men sail traditional fishing dhows across turquoise water.
The Aiyana feature 30 private oceanfront villas on the northwest tip of Pemba Island
Brianna Randall
As on most islands in the Zanzibar Archipelago, the people who live on Pemba are mainly Muslim. This is due to the islands’ historic role as hubs for exporting spices, slaves and ivory. In 1698, Arabs from Oman took control of the islands, and by the 1840s Sultan Seyyid Said made Zanzibar a political powerhouse in East Africa and the commercial capital of the western Indian Ocean. They became known as the Spice Islands.
Pemba Island is much smaller than Zanzibar or Mafia island to the south. Its clear seas offer some of East Africa’s best diving and snorkeling opportunities. The coral reefs in the northwest are still healthy, thanks to low tourism traffic and locally managed marine reserves.
The Ngezi Vumawimbi Nature Forest Reserve, also located on the northwestern tip of Pemba Island, covers more than 7,000 acres and is the largest remaining endemic coastal forest in the Zanzibar Archipelago. The forests’ native mango, ebony and mahogany trees are home to flying foxes and red colobus monkeys, and its mangrove forests support a wealth of colorful birds like kingfishers.
The friendly staff at The Aiyana hail from the nearby village on Pemba Island. Many helped during the resort's construction.
Brianna Randall
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