01
The Main Prison Complex
30 mins
Explore the abandoned cells and courtyards of the main 1893 facility. This area never functioned as a jail, operating only as a yellow fever quarantine station.
Explore
Historic Quarantine Station Ruins
Walk through the 19th-century coral stone structures originally built as a prison in 1893. These buildings never held inmates, serving instead as a yellow fever quarantine station.
British First Minister Lloyd Mathews bought Changuu Island in 1893 to build this prison complex. The facility ultimately became a medical quarantine zone for arriving passengers.
Today, the site features weathered coral walls covered in vegetation. You can walk through the empty courtyards and read historical plaques detailing the island's layered past.
02
The Old Medical Facilities
15 mins
Inspect the remnants of the hospital and dispensary used during the quarantine era. Medical staff used these rooms to check passengers and sailors before they reached Stone Town.
Tour the Ruins with a Local Guide
Zanzibar Stone Town and Prison Island Tour with Local Guide6 h 10 min 4.8 (26)from $45
