Comoros

Lost between the coasts of Tanzania and northern Madagascar, the three islands of the Comoros (four with Mayotte, which has remained French) make up one of the wildest archipelagos, less frequented by international tourism and lying in the paradisiacal waters of the Indian Ocean.

These volcanic islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli, have all the ingredients to become a top tourist destination, but they still look like a small, unexplored natural Eden of crystal-clear sea and luxuriant land, inhabited by a friendly population, very attached to its traditions and strongly Islamised, whose origins are a meticulous kaleidoscope of African (Bantu, Swahili, Malagasy) and Arab, but also Indo-Eastern, cultural influences.

The ‘Islands of the Moon’, as the locals call them according to Arab tradition, each have their own particular characteristics that make them unique in the world. Between the paradisiacal beaches and the vast tropical plantations, the echoes of epic pirates and ancient sultanates resound. The French colonial presence can be heard in the language spoken, although the local Shikomor, Malagasy and Arabic are more common. The daily life of the Comorians can be found in the markets of the capital Moroni in Grande Comore, of Fomboni in Moheli, of Mutsamudu in Anoujan, or on the traditional djahazi boats of the fishermen, among the women who traffic in fillets on the beaches or in the inland fields, while the most heartfelt traditions of these people are to be found in the mosques, within the four walls of the family hierarchy and, above all, during the “Arabian Nights” of the Grands Mariés, wedding celebrations that give access to the highest social ranks, requiring years of preparation and savings. If the heart of Grande Comore is dominated by the 2,360-metre-high mysterious active volcano of Karthala, with its caldera of dark stratified lava that attracts scholars from all over the world, the rest of the island is characterised by explosive vegetation and beaches of incredible wild beauty. Home to ylang-ylang, the precious inflorescence from which the essential oil is extracted that forms the basis of the Chanel No. 5 perfume, and jasmine used for the beautiful traditional ceremonial parure, Anjouan is also called the “Island of Fragrances”. An archipelago of primary forests, coffee and essence plantations, white beaches fringed with coconut palms and volcanic creeks, where ancient salt lakes are embedded, the Comoros opens onto a turquoise sea inhabited by sea turtles, whales and an explosive underwater life, especially in the wild and virgin Moheli, whose fauna of lemurs and endemic bats has attracted the interest of UNESCO, and which was the seat of a last all-female sultanate.

A paradise of 3 islands that preserve their primordial charm, primeval nature and deserted beaches that would make the most famous international tourist destinations pale in comparison, yet to be discovered.