My Journey: Comoros & Mayotte

At the crossroads of Africa and Arabia with a pinch of France, Comoros is the Indian Ocean’s archipelago for explorers, says Mark Stratton

I’m scrambling down a crumbling ash slope heading into the bowels of a volcanic inferno. It’s been a sweaty five-hour hike up Karthala’s flank to the crater, passing through stands of papaya and sweet ladyfinger bananas. The call of distant mosques is borne on the wind.

Inside the caldera is a gravel plain of crumbled black ash and basalt lava flows leading to an even deeper vent hissing toxic steam below. The highest point of the Comoros archipelago is desolate but the views out to the

Indian Ocean are unbeatable.

I had to find my atlas when I was invited to Comoros. Located in the Indian Ocean this obscure archipelago consists of four small islands: Grand Comere, Anjouan, Moheli, and Mayotte, situated off Mozambique, north of Madagascar.

With a population less than one million Comoros shares a history similar to Zanzibar: an exotic fusion of Bantu Africa mixed with Arabian genes. The latter reflects the arrival a thousand years ago of Middle Eastern traders who came seeking spices and fragrant essences. The Arabic spice traders brought with them Islam and the people remain devoutly conservative but welcoming of foreigners.

Complementing this heady mixture is an underbelly of Francophone-influence from colonisation in 1841. In 1975 three of the four Comoran Islands broke away from French rule to form an independent country, although Mayotte decided against this and remains a French territory more prosperous than its neighbours. French remains widely spoken alongside Comoran creole, which is infused with Swahili and Arabic words.

Natural highs

Besides climbing the 2,361m-high Karthala Volcano, Grand Comore Island harbours attractive Islamic-infused architecture with a lovely whitewashed 15th-century mosque in Moroni and spectacular volcanic landforms such as a raised lava dyke called the ‘Dragon’s

Back’. Quality restaurants are hard to find but the seafood can be excellent. At Itsandra Beach I dine on sea-bass and plump prawns. Comoros’ signature dish is lobster served with vanilla sauce.

The other two independent Comoros Islands are even less developed for tourism. Moheli is the smallest and something of an eco-paradise where travellers see nesting green turtles and huge Livingstone fruit-bats. Laka Lodge is the island’s most luxurious refuge and fronted by a golden beach.

Anjouan Island is craggily impressive and fragrant with spices and essences such as nutmeg and ylang-ylang flowers.

A full-day’s excursion to the coral lagoons enclosed by the island’s north-eastern reef is well worth it. Spotted dolphins race our boat and outside the reef we track humpback whales as they rise and submerge close by.

Travelling between the islands is possible either via inter-island flights on local carriers such as Int’Air Iles or by boat.