提到桑给巴尔(Zanzibar),大多数人的脑海中都会浮现出努恩圭(Nungwi)洁白的沙滩和碧绿的印度洋。然而,对于渴望深度探索坦桑尼亚自然生态的旅行者来说,这座岛屿的魅力远不止于此。在距离努恩圭不远的内陆丛林中,隐藏着一个集生物多样性与地质奇观于一体的小众景点——塔扎里变色龙保护区与洞穴(Tazari Chameleon Reserve & Caves)。
如果你正在寻找桑给巴尔的“隐藏宝石”,或者想为你的海岛假期增添一份《侏罗纪公园》般的探险感,这里绝对值得列入你的行程。
塔扎里变色龙保护区不仅仅是一个观赏动物的地方,它是一次独特的生态双重体验。大多数游客匆匆前往热门的香料农场或乔扎尼森林(Jozani Forest),却错过了北部这个由当地人精心维护的保护区。
这里最大的特色在于“地上与地下”的反差:地上是郁郁葱葱的灌木丛,栖息着色彩斑斓的爬行动物;地下则是桑给巴尔最大的石灰岩洞穴系统之一,充满了神秘色彩。对于亲子游家庭、摄影爱好者以及地质迷来说,这是一个能在 2 小时内获得丰富体验的完美目的地。
顾名思义,这里的明星是变色龙。坦桑尼亚是世界上变色龙种类最丰富的国家之一。在塔扎里,你不需要像在国家公园那样拿着望远镜苦苦搜寻,经验丰富的向导会带你穿过保护区,指认出伪装在枝叶间的精灵。
你极大概率能见到杰克逊变色龙(Jackson's Chameleon),雄性头上标志性的三只角让它们看起来像微型的三角龙。此外,还有体型娇小的侏儒变色龙和色彩鲜艳的皮瓣变色龙(Flap-necked Chameleon)。观察它们标志性的独立转动眼球、卷曲的尾巴以及慢动作般的捕食过程,是非常治愈的体验。
与传统的动物园不同,塔扎里鼓励在向导的指导下进行“负责任的互动”。你可以让变色龙轻轻爬上你的手臂,感受它们爪子的抓握力(不用担心,它们非常温顺)。
这种互动对于儿童来说极具教育意义,向导通常会详细讲解变色龙如何通过改变肤色来调节体温或表达情绪,而不仅仅是为了伪装。这不仅是一次拍照打卡的机会,更是一堂生动的自然课。
塔扎里洞穴属于干燥的石灰岩溶洞。带上手电筒(向导通常会提供),沿着台阶深入地下,你会看到数百万年形成的钟乳石(Stalagmites)和石笋(Stalactites)。洞穴内部空间巨大,有些大厅甚至能容纳数十人。
这里是野生动物的天然庇护所。当你用手电筒扫过洞顶时,可能会发现成群的蝙蝠倒挂休息。在岩壁的缝隙中,偶尔还能看到特殊的“鞭蛛”(无毒,看起来像螃蟹一样的蜘蛛),为探险增添了几分神秘感。
如果你住在努恩圭,不想长途跋涉去东海岸,塔扎里是探索桑给巴尔地质构造的最佳替代方案。
塔扎里变色龙保护区提供了一种有别于传统“阳光沙滩”的桑给巴尔体验。它原始、安静且充满野趣。在这里,你不仅支持了当地的生态保护工作,还能在钻进古老洞穴的那一刻,感受到这座热带岛屿深邃的历史与自然底蕴。
下次去努恩圭,不妨在海滩躺平之余,花上两个小时,去会会这些神奇的变色龙邻居吧!
Aneta McCoy What an amazing place!!! You can see chameleons in their natural environment, see how they hunt, lay eggs, interact. The chameleons stay herę only for a few weeks and are then set free. Baby chameleons are set free after two weeks of birth. Great educational experience. And super animal friendly. Thank You Bolle for being such a wonderful guide and for telling us so much about these amazing creatures!
Nikita Myazin There are two caves, which are not super large, but just large enough go through, see interesting stuff and bats and not suffer too much from humidity and CO2 levels. We’ve had great time with Ali explaining us everything. Also it’s 2 for 1, since in the same place there’s also a chameleon corner. It’s not large (3x3 m or so), but there are a lot of chameleons and even their babies. For us it was even better, since you can see a lot of chameleons without having to go through a lot of places, so definitely recommend. BTW chameleons seem quite happy there.
Andrei Sharapov Be careful! The caves have a high concentration of carbon dioxide and no ventilation. It is especially dangerous to be in the cave where you will be asked to go crouching into another room. You can lose consciousness and die in this tunnel.
Victoria Donaldson Ali is very passionate and knowledgeable about Chameleons. The place is just a little hut. He keeps the Chameleons very well, and rotates them in the wild. Highly recommend, not expensive.
Morgan Miel-Girard Amazing caves and great explanations from Ali our guide ! Wear proper shoes in the caves as they're huge and can be slippery. The chameleon sanctuary is a great finish touch and you also get to hold them and feed them too We paid 75K for 2 for the whole experience ( £12/person) and stayed almost 2 hours