What to do in Bagamoyo

There is a number of activities to do at Bagamoyo for tourist who would like to visit this amazing place with rich history. Bagamoyo’s unhurried pace and fascinating history make it an agreeable day or weekend excursion from Dar es Salaam. Tourist attractions include the Kaole ruins dating back to the 12th century thought to mark one of the earliest contacts of Islam with Africa; the Old Fort built in 1860 for holding slaves for shipment to Zanzibar; the first Roman Catholic Church in East Africa built around 1868 used as a base to run a camp of about 650 freed slaves; the German colonial administration headquarters, the Boma, in the first capital of German East Africa; the Mission Museum displaying history of Bagamoyo; and the Livingstone Memorial Church among others. Bagamoyo white sand beaches are considered some of the finest on the whole of the East African coast. Take a walk and get lost. Walk around the town in daylight and view the entrance portals of the homes which often display intricate carvings with Arabic influence. View the aging German buildings. This gives you a great view of the town, as you watch. The busy port area and local fish market. Watch dhows getting loaded or note the concrete posts on which slaves were bound for display and sale. Explore Slavery & Missionary museum (north of town, from the main road follow a beautiful avenue of trees). A museum on the town’s history, divided in three sections: Slavery, Missionary & Bagamoyo history. Just behind is a famous Baobab tree that grew around a goat chain. Visit Mangrove forests. Walk along the beach marveling at the mangrove forests growing in the sea. Since there aren’t many people around this area, beware of muggings and don’t do this alone. Take a Crocodile Farm tour. Take a drive to Kaole village. A small village 3 km south of Bagamoya along an unsealed coast road. A crocodile farm, where you can see crocodiles from babies to 50-year old ones in concrete basins. They are grown mainly for their skin, but also for meat. Visit Catholic Museum About 2km northwest of town and reached via a long, mango-tree-shaded avenue is the Catholic mission and museum, one of Bagamoyo’s highlights, with well-labelled displays from Bagamoyo’s heyday. In the same compound is the chapel where Livingstone’s body was laid before being taken to Zanzibar Town en route to Westminster Abbey. The mission dates from the 1868 establishment of Freedom Village and is the oldest in Tanzania. Have a cocktail at Millenium Old Post Office Hotel. You can ask to go to the roof of the Millenium Old Post Office Hotel for a drink or cocktail, from where there is a great view over the city and the busy port and fish-market area. Visit Art market. The old market area is now the art market where there is a seemingly infinite amount of pictures available, as well as some local crafts work. Since many of the pictures you can find elsewhere in the country were painted in Bagamoyo, prices can be much cheaper here, although bargaining will always be required. Caravan Serai Museum. This undistinguished museum has a small display documenting the slave trade. It’s at the town entrance, just past and diagonally opposite CRDB bank. More interesting than the present museum is the site at which it is built, which was formerly the starting point for slave and trade caravans to the interior. College of Arts Located about 500m southeast of Bagamoyo along the road to Dar es Salaam is this renowned theater and arts college, home of the national dance company. When school is in session there are occasional performances, and it’s usually possible to arrange drumming or dancing lessons. The annual highlight is the Bagamoyo Arts Festival, usually held around late September or October. The festival features traditional dance and drumming performances, acrobatics displays, drumming workshops and much more. The festival is not the most organized, advance information on schedules is rarely available, but it is a good way to meet Tanzania’s up-and-coming artists and performers, and to get introduced to local talent and culture.