A little context is needed to explain why my holiday in Comoros was my most miserable holiday ever.
In 1975, he had to make a decision about whether the four Comoros islands located between Zanzibar and Madagascar would separate from French rule. Mayotte remained in France, but three of them, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli, elected a ‘Comexit’ and formed the independent Union of the Comoros.
It wasn’t a huge success. Comoros’ post-independence period was beset by political turmoil (with more than 20 coups or attempted coups in 50 years) and economic hardship. Thousands of Comorians in search of a better future arrive in Mayotte (i.e. France) via dangerous small boat crossings every year, and in recent months this influx has triggered mass protests in Mayotte as its economy feels the strain.
Still, I love far-flung places, so I bucked the migration trend by joining a modest influx of tourists. Jim O’Brien, founder of tour operator Native Eye, sends about 40 guests each year. “This is for those who like to travel off the beaten path,” said O’Brien, who described Comoros as a “humble Zanzibar.”
The seductive promise of East African Swahili culture and its history of the spice trade was absolutely drooling. Once named the ‘Perfume Islands’ for their trade in nutmeg and cloves, tenth-century Arab traders had another nickname: ‘The Islands’. camera (Moon)’, due to its lunar-like volcanic landscapes. Arriving on the largest island, Grande Comore, my flight from Paris passed over the massive 7,800ft-high volcano Mount Karthala before landing.
Even after a desperate journey from the airport, across a lava plain filled with garbage and unfinished buildings, to the capital Moroni, whose beaches contain a million times more waste plastic than wooden sailboats, I held on to romantic ideals.
The architectural center of Moroni is 15 whitewashedThisThe Old Friday Mosque, dating back to the 19th century, curves like a decorated wedding cake around a promontory formed by lava. I watched the worshipers ankle deep kanzu The robes are flowing from the morning prayer. Abdur-Rahman, an old English-speaking man, invited me to drink cardamom-spiced coffee in the cramped hillside medina just behind the mosque. “Our country is poor; the problem is that politicians steal everything,” he told me. Long-serving President Assoumani made changes to the constitution in 2018 to remain in office for two more terms. Most recently, he retained power in elections in January 2024.
The nightlife barely changes, but I found a favorite sunset spot: a wooden-decked beach bar on Itsandra selling French beer and grilled tuna. It was a short taxi ride from my beachfront hotel, the Golden Tulip., That was nice enough. My huge windows offered no privacy, but a spectacular panoramic view of the sea.
Getting there wasn’t easy outside of Moroni, so I hired Muhammad Yahya’s taxi for €55 and he took me around the baobab-filled north. At Lac Salé, a spectacularly green lake fills a volcanic hole that Mohammed insisted was bottomless.
Meanwhile, Mount Karthala can only be reached on foot. My guided walk to its crater turned into a 13-hour return journey, setting off at the first call to prayer and returning, jelly-legged, into the blood-red sunset of the Indian Ocean. But it was impressive. The crater above the cloud forest reveals itself as a parched plain of chocolate-coloured volcanic gravel; Hissing fumaroles and pungent sulfur dioxide indicate that Karthala’s 2007 eruption will not be the last.
The next day, I planned to fly to Mohéli, the most naturally beautiful of Comoros’ three islands, with creamy white sand beaches and rainforest. I was salivating at the photos of a swanky beach resort I had booked, near a turtle-nesting beach. Heaven, I imagined.
All internal flights in Comoros were subsequently canceled for no apparent reason other than political nonsense. I went down to the harbor to look at a boat but the navy kwasa-kwasa It appeared to be far from seaworthy, and I had heard that many emigrants had lost their lives trying to reach Mayotte.
Disappointed, I took a regular ferry to Anjouan Island. Gombessa It sat in the harbor for hours as every sparkle of space filled itself, and then it whined in protest as it slowly made its way towards Anjouan, arriving in Mutsamudu City in pitch darkness. At least the tired Al-Almal, the hotel where I was staying, had a nice view of pterodactyl-sized fruit bats flitting around the coastal trees.
The next morning, over baguettes and local coffee, the joie de vivre revived and I contacted one of Anjouan’s few guides. “Welcome to the spice island,” said Patrice Kalde, who took me on a tour that went smoothly until his vehicle broke down. Anjouan’s highlands are scented with nutmeg, vanilla and clove, and at a small distillery, bundles of perfumed ylang-ylang leaves are loaded into a tank heated by an ancient-looking wood fire. “The essence is going to France to be used in Chanel No 5,” Kalde said.
Nearby, an impressive mosque-like marble tomb is dedicated to former President Abdullah. He seized power in a coup but was assassinated in 1989. “With such a large mausoleum, it must have been popular,” I suggested. “Not at all. He built nothing, created no jobs, and everyone remained poor except himself,” Kalde replied resignedly.
Soon I said goodbye to Comoros and flew to Mayotte. International flights were operating. It was like traveling 50 years into the future. I saw modern boutiques, quaint cafes selling all kinds of viennoiserie, clean, bathing beaches, and lemurs in the lush mountains around Sangoro Mbili. Madame le Guillou, a French immigrant, served a breakfast of homemade preserves at her tiny forest hideaway, Le Relais Forestier. It was my first cockroach-free night in two weeks.
If I were to go again, I would join a tour to overcome the difficulties with Eyüp’s patience in a country more suitable for adventurous backpackers. Jim O’Brien told me that the August tour is fully booked, so he’ll be doing another tour towards the end of this year. Comoros has potential, you just need some local help to unlock it.
Native Eye’s nine-day ‘Comoros: Islands of the Moon’ tour costs £1,775 per person, excluding flights. The next departure date is October 21 (www.nativeeyetravel.com)