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The Mafia Island is indeed an important place to visit in Tanzania. This Mafia Island is an integral part of the Tanzanian Spice Islands along with Zanzibar and Pemba. This Mafia Island is controlled by the mainland and not from Zanzibar. The Mafia district has a population of 40,801 according to 2002 Tanzania National Census. The people living here are mainly fishermen. Some of them are also engaged in small scale food cultivation.
The Mafia Island in Tanzania is an ideal spot for the fishermen, scuba divers and those who want to enjoy a hustle and bustle free cool and calm environment. For the divers, the best time is from October to end of March. For the common tourists the ideal time is from May to October. The Lizu and the Aswan hotel in the capitol city of the Mafia Island offer the best accommodation facilities to the visitors.
The Mafia Island comprises of one large island, which is 394 square kilometers in length. Besides this, the island also consists of ample number of small islands. Some of the islands are even inhabited like the Chole Island, which has a permanent population of 800.The main town in this area is Kilindoni. The water path between the deltas of the Rufiji river and the island is called the Mafia Channel. The Mafia district is divided into seven divisions such as Baleni, Jibondo, Kanga, Kilindoni, Kirongwe, Kiegeani, Mibulani. The history of the Mafia Island is also highly significant because this island played a crucial role in the trade between far east and the mainland Tanzania.
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