It was once part of the Zanzibar Sultanate when it was ruled by Omani Arabs. British colonialists took control in 1922, when the Zanzibar sultan sold Mafia and a 10-mile coastal strip on the current mainland of Tanzania and Kenya. A mere 600 tourists fly to the islands in a year to spend an average of five nights, making Mafia one of the most unspoiled areas on the coast of East Africa. About 90 percent of the visitors stay at the exclusive Kinasi Lodge, which accommodates only 28 guests in cottages built from palm thatching and whose architecture reflects African, Arabian and European influences. Divers are carried across the waters of the Mafia Marine Park in a traditional dhow.
Mafia Island offers an extensive array of reef fish and coral.
Then there is a 30-minute drive to the lodge overlooking Chole Bay. The island's serenity betrays the fact it was once a hunting ground for Sakalava cannibals from Madagascar. Around 1829, Mafia's capital at Kua was attacked by 320 cannibals who arrived aboard 80 war canoes and destroyed the town before dining on the inhabitants. The town was never rebuilt. But now isolated islets, beaches and lagoons provide private swimming and picnicking hideaways.