Overview
Toten Island is located in Tanga Bay directly opposite Tanga Harbour. The island is covered by a lush coastal forest with huge baobab trees and has also ruins of early settlements. When the Portuguese controlled part of the coast, Toten Island seems to have been used for a prison. Later, according to historical records, the island was around 1854 occupied by a considerable number of inhabitants. Islamic monochrome and Chinese blue and white shards mostly of the 15th, 16th and late 18th and 19th centuries have been found here.
There are also ruins of two mosques and German tombs of the turn of 19th century, as well as foundations and ruins of buildings of the German colonial era, when Toten Island served as a quarantine station and European graveyard, thus its name ‘Toten Island’, which is German for ‘island of the dead’. In 1884, the last inhabitants of the Island moved to Tanga. Research is needed to explore the history of the many ruins on Toten Island, which are also in urgent need of protection as historical sites. Toten Island also has small beaches and nature trails criss-crossing the forest and ruins and can be visited by boats, arranged by hotels and tour operators in Tanga.
Things to Do
- Snorkeling / Swimming
- Historical Visits
