Comoros

The Comoros is an archipelagic country made up of three islands at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni. The predominant religion of the population—and the official state religion—is Islam. Comoros proclaimed its independence from France in 1975. The country has three official languages: Comorian, French and Arabic.

The Comoros is the third-smallest African country by area after São Tomé and Príncipe and Seychelles. Although its population was estimated in 2026 to only number just under 1 million, the Comoros ranks as one of the most densely populated countries in the world. The sovereign state consists of three major islands, namely Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mohéli, and numerous smaller islands, all of the volcanic

Comoro Islands as a country no longer includes Mayotte. Mayotte voted against independence from France in a referendum in 1974 and continues to be administered by France as an overseas department. France has repeatedly vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions that would have affirmed Comorian sovereignty over the island. Mayotte became the overseas department and a region of France in 2011 following a referendum which was passed overwhelmingly. However, the Comoros continues to claim the island, with backing from the AU and UN.

Since independence in 1974, t has experienced more than 20 coups or attempted coups, with various heads of state assassinated. In 2023, the Comoros had the least income inequality among its peers regionally, though poverty remains widespread especially in rural areas. Between 2009 and 2014, about 19% of the population lived below the international poverty line of US $1.90 a day by purchasing power parity.

At Moroni, I was given priority status to jump the queue on immigration, but it did not do us any good as it still took a long time for our passports to get their visas in them. During this time I went to the toilet there I managed to get myself locked inside it which was a bit frightening. I had to thump on the door repeatedly to get out. Eventually we cleared the airport by about 1:30 pm and we were taken to lunch in a nearby restaurant. The food with passable but the ambience was somewhat lacking ,with plastic over the table and a cloud of flies everywhere. Still, it was a nice gesture to give us lunch as apparently the hotel would not be serve anything by the time we arrived.


Moroni airport is small . So inside is chaos as residents ..	..arrive from Tanzania with unimaginable amounts of baggage	An unfortunate incident - Chris got locked in the lavatory	We had lunch at this restaurant just beside the airport

Then just a short mini bus ride to the Hotel. After an efficient check-in we found our room, 205, which had tremendous views but no balcony and was somewhat basic. I went down to reception after awhile and asked for a second chair, three more hangers to add to the two that were already in the room and two hand towels to be provided for us and these arrived fairly promptly. Later in the trip there was a constant battle to get a reasonable number of towels in our bedrooms

After sorting ourselves out, we went for a walk around the grounds and discovered a revolting swimming pool down by the beach which had not been used for 18 months but it was a pleasant beach although far too rough to swim on. We stopped and chatted to Sue for a while and then Olaf joined us near another bar. Then back in the room and some washing and showering before venturing out to dinner sometime after 7 pm we found most of the rest of the group sitting at a large table and sat near them but not with them. We ordered two Caipirinhas and a pizza and did not have to wait ages for them as we had been warned. We were joined by Ching who brought along his vodka and Tabasco which David bravely drank with him, but which overpowered his Caipirinha completely. But it was an interesting evening chatting. Then back to the room for the night

We stayed 3 nights. The hotel is in a lovely position, but clearly has been better in the past. It is currently on a downward path with poor maintenance evident wherever one looked. The extensive building going on is disruptive, and the pool is out of action. From the state of the black slime in the pool, it has been out of action for a year or more. Swimming from the beach was not a viable option as the sea was too rough most of the time.

The breakfast is passable (but not excellent) and the food and drinks are also passable, but they are quite expensive. There is no alternative in the area, so you have to eat and drink in the hotel, even though you have to pay $11 for a beer. Service was fine, but slow/very slow. You could wait 30 minutes to be served a drink. I end up giving to an "average" rating, but I have no idea if there is anything better on the island


Certainly a beach hotel, but not really a resort	The view from our room was good..	.. but the pool was disgusting, and unusable	Large bats were often on the move

The breakfast room and indeed the breakfast, was uninspiring	The bar area was much better, and we had cocktails here	The bedroom was clean and "functional"	The pool and beach in better days

Moroni is the capital city of the volcanic Comoros archipelago off Africa's east coast. It is on the island of Grande Comore, which is ringed by beaches and old lava from the active Mount Karthala Volcano. Around the port, carved doors and the colonnaded Old Friday Mosque recall the city’s Arab heritage. Its population is about 50,000, and virtually all are Sunni Muslim

The historic town centre, the Medina, contains a maze of narrow alleys and ancient buildings but is poorly maintained. There are many mosques, notably the Badjanani Mosque or Ancienne Mosquée de Vendredi (old Friday mosque), which is the oldest mosque in the Medina. It was originally built in 1427, and a minaret was added in 1921.

Comoros A much better breakfast than than at Dar or Stone Town. We set off at 8:30 am in a somewhat clapped out mini bus which did not give good views. At our first stop, which was a Fortress near Moroni, we climbed up a steep flight of stairs to a lookout point at the top: four of us stopped halfway as the going seemed to be getting quite difficult. When the others came down, they did say that coming down from the top was quite problematic. We walked round an area adjacent to this, were the witches once brewed up concoctions to sell to people for favourable outcomes in their lives. A bit like places in South Africa, but not necessarily with human body parts (although this wasn’t ruled out completely here in the past).

Our next stop was in Moroni where we walked along a street with loudspeakers blaring out the local producers wares (they do not shout out their sales talk now, but use a pre-recorded tape with a loudspeaker). We then went into a market where we stopped for some time for some of our group to buy fridge magnets: not something we collect. Then further on into the market where the highlight was the chopping up of a horses head.


An old fort overlooking Moroni	Quite a climb up, and Chris did not manage it all	A walk through the old Medina	Omar bumped into an old friend

Children playing football	The black magic house	and the stone used to sharpen the black magic knives	The boys kept a low profile here

Colourful vendors along the road	The horses head being chopped up (with difficulty)	Pounding cassava	Fish there were a plenty

The big and the small		Many local women wore this rather crude yellow makeup	The boys continued to keep their heads down

Finally back to the van and we progressed. to a "vanilla plantation" which was just a quick stop and Omar‘s explanation of a vanilla plant at the side of the road rather than a commercial plantation. Omar, the local guide gave us a fanciful story of how a slave had discovered the pollination process without the help of insects in the 1850s! Then on to lunch. It was billed to be at a beach restaurant which turned to be a series of shacks by a stunningly beautiful beach. The local guides had brought a barbeque, plates, tablecloths and food with them. And they turned the setting into one of the most memorable lunches we have ever eaten, as the local lobster was barbecued as we looked beyond the barbeque to the sandy beach. The local lobsters, rice and beans were followed by fresh fruit. Our group ate in two different huts with six of us in each and it was a lovely setting and a memorable meal. We had 20 minutes walk down to the beach where two of our party had a swim, but Chris decided that it was too difficult to get changed and the waves were probably a bit too much for her anyway.


We stopped for views	Local schoolgirls all wore the traditional dress	Omar and the vanilla plant	The interior is quite rugged

The we stopped for a barbeque lunch on this fairy tale beach	We paddled in the sea whilst the barbeque was set up	Too rough for Chris, but 2 of the group did venture in	Pembroke supervises the barbecuing

.. and makes sure it is properly cooked.	Delicious say the boys	Looks like we get a pudding too	and we take in the view from our table

After lunch we had quite a long journey in the van before stopping at the Dragon Rock. Dragon Rock was formed by the remnants of a collapsed ancient volcanic crater, the serrated ridge of moss-covered, jagged rocks looks uncannily like the spiked spine of a mythical sleeping dragon rising out of the Indian Ocean. Our guide Omar had clearly not ben here for some time, and did not know that a local farmer had erected substantial quantities of substantial fences

Our hike involved a walk which proved to be more than just problematic as we had to hack our way through the thick undergrowth most of us just wearing sandals and shorts. It started off difficult and got worse. There were several obstacles such as fences to be mounted, many of them with corrugated iron jutting out in awkward places. Chris had to be manhandled over these. Then we got to the Dragon Rocks, where Omar said that if we climbed further up, then it was a much easier way afterwards. I knew I could climb up the slope, so went up there only to them be told that the easiest way to get back to the van was to slide back down to where I had come from. I was not best pleased. We then followed Omar along a track for a while, before he suddenly disappeared back up the rock, leaving us to walk down to the beach and wait for there for him for a considerable time. The others finally came down from the rock, some of them on their behinds, so the story of an easier way once up there was something of a myth. Josh seemed very angry about this.

Eventually all of us were back at the van, and we proceeded to the Crater Lake, which was quite scenic and then to a baobab tree which apparently had served as a prison once according to Omar (later checking on the web, we found that it had never been a prison) . We got back to the hotel just before six and one of our group, Derek was heard insisting that tomorrow’s trip end by 3 pm as he felt the day was far too long. We returned to the room and had a shower once the water cut had finished. We had the chicken sandwiches, leftover from the flight the previous day. Then a shower before going to the bar and having two Caipirinhas and a very enjoyable crêpe filled with banana. Then back to the room for the remains of the previous night’s pizza and dictating this diary.

We set out for the day again at 8:30 am, minus Derek who had wanted the tour to be curtailed and ended by 3 pm at the latest, but his wife Bee Cee did come, Our first stop was in Moroni and we walked along a wide street with market stalls on either side and some loudspeakers being used for advertising. We then turned down dark stairs to enter the buildings behind. This was the entrance to the Medina, which was an area where the nobles used to live (the nobles were one of three classes on the island) . However nowadays these buildings are just rented out as shops by the noble class. After this we headed out of town a bit and eventually stopped at an old palace by the sea. It was in ruins. We then headed back to the museum which, believe it or not was closed for reparations. So we arrived at our lunch restaurant soon after 11. This was not a problem as we had a gorgeous coconut to drink and then some guava juice before the actual meal which was again lobster. This time accompanied by noodles or rice and some yam and hard boiled eggs: the last two were the best part of the meal which I thoroughly enjoyed. It all took place in a covered gazebo at the back of a restaurant.

After this we headed south down the west side of the island passing a blue and white village (donated by an Arab Sheikh) until we got to a beach which was meant to be wonderful and might well have been had it had less rubbish. The tide was well out so there was no possibility of swimming and we just stayed there for 15 minutes to stretch our legs. On the way back we stopped at a distillery where they made ylang ylang , a perfume from the local flowers. It was not operational on the day we were there and was very low tech and hidden down a wooded path well away from anything. There was also a stop to look at baobab trees, the tour operator obviously wishing to include as much as possible, even where there really wasn’t too much to be seen .

We had a stop to look at a lava field. Unfortunately it was the town dump, and they were actually burning the rubbish, The thick acrid smoke set me off coughing quite uncontrollably. I stayed in the van with the door shut and eventually the van moved up wind of the smoke and the people who had exited the van caught us up. No apology was given for this stupidity of stopping here.

So back at the hotel by about 4:30 pm. We had a snack in our room and read until 7 pm packing up to be ready for the 8:30 am trip to the airport in the morning, then we went down to the restaurant and enjoyed some Caipirinha and crêpes filled with bananas which were yummy.


The road at the north of the island had virtually disappeared	A stop at the "prison" baobab tree	Gives an idea of the size of the doorway	and open to the elements from the inside

Crater lake	Some refreshments	Another market stop

		There are arab doors here	and tradition narrow streets

	Big spiders were common	The boys check out a mosque

The largest of the Moroni mosques

			Our lunch stop in Moroni

Coconuts all round	We got as far south as this beach ..	..but it had a lot of rubbish and was unswimable

Where is she ?	She was hiding !

Ylang ylang flowers are used to make a	distillate that is used a a basis for expensive perfumes	The way it was distilled was, shall we say, a bit crude

An uneventful day with transport to the airport at 8:30 for 11.45 flight. Then a 40 minute flight to what turned out to be a small island off the main island of Mayotte.