Want to feel like you have stepped inside your very own castaway paradise — with an East African twist? Then Chole Mjini is the place for you. Found just a few minutes’ boat ride from Mafia Island, Chole Mjini is a place to have an adventure: you sleep up high in the baobabs in open and airy tree houses, and dine under the stars or amidst the open sky and ancient ruins of the long ago inhabitants of Chole Island.

Listed as one of the more unique accommodation options along in East Africa, there are only seven tree houses at the lodge — plus one built at ground level — creating a wonderful sense of privacy across the property. Ascending winding staircases up into the canopy, each of the tree houses has a king size bed, and some, like the popular one named Saba, have thatched platforms overlooking either the beach or the treetops and bay. Each has its own little open-air shower and toilet area, found at the base of the baobab that it inhabits, built inside a bamboo thicket and powered by a very novel kerosene heating method that you operate yourself.

The food is plentiful and filled with local spices and flavor. Tea and coffee are delivered to your treetop bedroom via a pulley system each morning.

Chole Island itself is a very special place to visit, especially to visit some of the local craftsmen who still make their own wooden sailing dhows by hand. Do head down to the one and only waterfront bar for a sunset tipple with beautiful views over Chole Bay, and witness the daily migration of dozens of fruit bats as they fly from one small island to the next. Diving is also right on your tree top doorstep. You can experience some exceptional inland bays, reefs and see a variety of fish species in the warm, blue waters of Mafia Island National Park. During season whale sharks often pass through, and are not to be missed.