Prison Island, Zanzibar Hotline/WhatsApp +255 768 333 267 Prison Island also called Changuu Island, Quarantine Island, or Kibandiko in Swahili, is a small island in Tanzania's Zanzibar Channel. It’s located about 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) northwest of Stone Town. The island is roughly 800 meters (2,600 feet) long and 230 meters (750 feet) wide at its widest point. In the 1860s, it was used as a holding area for enslaved people and as a site for coral mining. In 1893, Lloyd Mathews, a British official in Zanzibar, bought the island and built a prison there. However, the prison was never used to hold prisoners. Instead, the facility served as a quarantine station for yellow fever patients. The quarantine station was used only part of the year, and during the rest of the time, the island became a popular getaway spot. Today, Changuu Island is a tourist destination owned by the government. It’s known for its population of Aldabra giant tortoises, which were a gift from the Brit...