NCAA assesses safety of six Amboni caves for tourism
What you need to know:
- Amboni Caves, the most extensive limestone caves in East Africa, are currently managed by the NCAA. The caves are located nine kilometres north of Tanga, off the Tanga-Mombasa Road.
Tanga. The Ngorongoro Conservation Authority (NCAA) is currently conducting a geological assessment of six of the nine caves at Amboni, in Tanga to determine whether they are safe for use by tourists.
Amboni Caves, the most extensive limestone caves in East Africa, are currently managed by the NCAA. The caves are located nine kilometres north of Tanga, off the Tanga-Mombasa Road.
According to experts, the caves were formed about 150 million years ago during the Jurassic age.
The conservator of the caves, Mr Melchizedek Mwambungu, said the work is being done to extend the scope of what the Amboni caves can offer to tourists. He was presenting a brief of the caves during a seminar to journalists organised by the NCAA in cooperation with the Tanga Press Club.
He said that surveys show that some of the caves can be used for visits but such a geological assessment was important to protect the lives of tourists.
He cited an example of cave number nine that has a space which can accommodate 50 people.
“We cannot allow tourists and other visitors to go to this cave because we are not yet sure of safety,” he said.
He said that a number of improvements have been made by NCAA including the construction of a modern toilet, a gate and slabs to enable people to visit the cave even during rainy seasons.
Currently, it is estimated that between 1,000 and 2,000 people visit the caves, majority of whom are domestic tourists.
Mr Mwambungue said the plans include creating a boat linkage with Zanzibar so that tourists visiting Zanzibar include Amboni caves in their packages.
Other plans include linking the cave with Kenya to tap tourists visiting Kenya and publicizing other attractions including the Amboni Sulphur bath and other attractions in Tanga.
“We aim at ensuring that they get maximum returns from the big investment being made on Amboni,” he said.
NCAA communications manager Joyce Mgaya said the reason why they were given the Amboni management task by the government was to exert more strength to make sure the history and stories surrounding the Amboni caves are not lost.
