Moroni

Built on dark volcanic basalt where the western slopes of Mount Karthala meet the Mozambique Channel, Moroni is the laid-back, perfume-scented capital of the Union of the Comoros on the island of Grande Comore (Ngazidja). Rather than modern glass towers, its skyline is defined by the whitewashed coral walls of the Ancienne Mosquée du Vendredi (Old Friday Mosque) jutting out over a rocky tidal harbour where wooden outrigger canoes (galawas) bob on clear Indian Ocean swells.

Behind the waterfront, the labyrinthine Badjanani Medina and Volo Volo Market preserve centuries of Swahili, Shirazi and Hadrami trading heritage, while a single coastal ring road connects the capital to Mount Karthala's cloud forests and the white coral sands of Chomoni Beach and Lac Salé.

Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport (HAH) sits 20 kilometres north of Moroni at Hahaya, receiving direct flights from Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Antananarivo, Réunion and Mayotte. Shared taxis and pre-booked hotel drivers follow the coastal road past black lava headlands into central Moroni in thirty to forty minutes. See getting to Moroni and around Grande Comore.

Because Grande Comore's coastline right in front of central Moroni is made of dramatic black basalt rock rather than sand, many visitors choose to stay five to ten minutes north along the corniche around Itsandra, where small sandy coves and seafront terraces face the sunset. Compare options in where to stay in Moroni.

Get lost in the coral-rag lanes and carved wooden doorways of Badjanani Medina, the Old Friday Mosque and Volo Volo Market, examine the living fossil coelacanth at the National Museum, hike into the cloud forest of Mount Karthala and the historic sultanate cliffs of Iconi, and swim at Mitsamiouli, Lac Salé and Chomoni Beach. Browse our top ten in things to do in Moroni.

Comorian cuisine brings together Indian Ocean lobster and reef fish, French culinary technique and the islands' own harvest of vanilla, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom: langouste à la vanille (spiny lobster poached in a fragrant Bourbon vanilla cream sauce), madaba (pounded cassava leaves simmered in coconut milk), grilled tuna skewers and green breadfruit over coals, all covered in our beaches and food guide.

In the Comorian language (Shikomori, a close relative of Swahili), Moroni means In the Heart of the Fire, a reference to the active caldera of Mount Karthala rising directly above the town. Known across the Indian Ocean as the Perfume Islands for their distillation of ylang-ylang flower oil used in classic French perfumery, Grande Comore is also famous for the Anda (Grand Mariage), a week-long traditional wedding celebration of silk robes, processions and music mainly held during the dry winter months.