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The Island of Zanzibar consists of two main islands, Pemba and Unguja with some 50 small islands making the archipelago of Zanzibar. Located on the Eastern coastal side of Africa and surrounded by in the Indian Ocean. It's the perfect blend between the African continent, Islam and South East Asia. Around 8th century AD, Zanzibar became a base for Arab merchants trading with the mainland of Tanzania. They named the archipelago  ” land of Zenj or Azania” meaning “the Blacks” in Arabic. Zanzibar's history highlights intense commercial and religious influences that have gifted the island with a highly authentic and specific flair. Swahili being the first language and it's “dominating "ethnic group, it was created by the intersection of these cultures. This syncretism formed an independent Muslim society mixing both the Arabic and Bantus cultures. The cultural heritage carried by Zanzibar also provides the island with such uniqueness offering to tourists what we can call a traveler's paradise. The Island's singularity, its biodiversity and the turquoise of it's water makes it almost improbable to find such landscapes anywhere else. Also referred to as, the "Spice Island". Spices and tourism are some of its main industries. The islands produce, cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg, and cloves. But, tourism as being one of the main industries inevitably attracts some issues especially when it is done on a massive scale. Being a Zanzibari tourist myself, I decided to take a closer look into the world of ecotourism on the islands and into ways to travel responsibly inside this East African paradise. To begin, understanding the meaning of ecotourism was important for me, since it is at the root of being a respectful traveler. Ecotourism is a combination of ecology and tourism.  It is defined by travelling without harming spoiling or polluting, the environment and by leaving the least carbon footprint possible. Ecotourism is also about leaving a positive mark on the environment and on the local communities. Sustainable travelling or ecotourism’s principle  are based on building cultural  environmental political and social awareness of the host countries.. 

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