Best Things to Do in Moroni

Moroni is one of the least crowded capitals in the Indian Ocean, offering a rare chance to explore an authentic Swahili-Arab port town before setting out around the volcanic coastline and cloud forests of Grande Comore.

1. Photograph the Ancienne Mosquée du Vendredi (Old Friday Mosque) on the harbour rock. Standing on a dark basalt promontory washed by ocean spray since the 15th century, this gleaming white mosque frames the traditional boat port and Mount Karthala behind it.
2. Get lost in the coral-stone alleys of Badjanani Medina. Step through narrow archways directly behind the Friday Mosque into a two-storey maze of coral-rag houses, carved Swahili teak doors, shaded courtyards and tiny neighbourhood mosques.
3. Follow the scent of vanilla, cloves and ylang-ylang at Volo Volo Market. Browse Moroni's open-air northern market for cured Bourbon vanilla pods, sun-dried cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon bark and colourful patterned shiromani wraps.
4. See the preserved Coelacanth at the National Museum of the Comoros (CNDRS). Examine a specimen of the prehistoric lobe-finned Gombessa fish (thought extinct for 65 million years until rediscovered in Comorian waters), alongside royal sultanate artefacts and volcanic geology displays.
5. Trek to the summit caldera of Mount Karthala (2,361 metres). Hike with a local mountain guide through tree-fern cloud forest and giant heath up to one of the largest active shield volcano calderas in the world.
6. Climb the historic cliff fortress of Iconi and Goulaivoini. Just south of Moroni, ascend the steep volcanic sea cliff of Iconi where residents once defended their sultanate town against 19th-century Malagasy pirate raids, passing the ruins of the Kaviridjeo palace.
7. Walk the rim of the green crater lake at Lac Salé (Niamawi). Near the northern tip of Grande Comore, stand above a circular volcanic maar filled with deep emerald saltwater ringed by pandanus trees and black cliffs.
8. Swim over white coral sand at Chomoni, Bouni and Trou du Prophète. Contrast Moroni's black lava rocks with the powder-white sand coves and turquoise lagoons of the north and east coasts.
9. Watch ylang-ylang distillation and vanilla curing on a plantation walk. Visit highland groves around Bambao or the western slopes to see yellow Cananga odorata blossoms distilled in copper alembics into essential oil for French perfumes.
10. Dine on langouste à la vanille as the sun sinks over the Mozambique Channel. Sit on a seaside terrace in Itsandra for fresh local spiny lobster simmered in aromatic Comorian vanilla sauce.