When Mozambique was under Portuguese rule, the capital city was called Lourenco Marques. Stretching more than one thousand Kilometres along the eastern coastline of the African continent, Mozambique is fast becoming every sun lovers one stop destination. And with an infinite number of coral reefs, fishing spots and breathtaking scenery, it’s easy to understand why.

Dotted across the shoreline, beach lovers will spot the silhouettes of the dhows, which have fished along the coastline for centuries. It’s a constant reminder that here, time ceases to matter, if exist at all.

Scuba divers can enjoy the best the ocean has to offer with a plethora of dive sites along the coast. Explore the interior, away from the tarred roads and hoi polloi, in search of Mozambique’s true treasure: an abundance of bird, plant and wildlife.

 

General Information on Mozambique:

Location: Mozambique extends for 2500km along the east coast of Africa, between latitudes 11° and 26°S and Longitude °S and Longitude 30° and 40°E.

Size: 799,380km²

Climate: Almost all the country is below 2000m and covered in a mixture of subtropical scrub. The south tends to be cooler and drier than the north.

Status: Multi-party republic

Population: 19,888,701 (2006 Mozambique Government estimate)

Capital: Maputo

Other main towns: Beira, Nampula, Chimoio; Nacala and Quelimane

Economy: Predominantly subsistence agriculture, although this is changing as exploitation of mineral resources increases.

Currency: Metical novo (Mtn)

Language: Official language is Portuguese. Other languages tend to be Bantu based and spoken in tribal areas. English isn’t widely spoken except in Tete province and along international borders. Swahili is spoken in Cabo Delgado and Niassa provinces close to the border with Tanzania.

Religion: Predominantly traditional, with large Christian and Muslim minorities

International telephone code: +258

Time: GMT +2

Electricity: 220 volts, 50Hz

Flag: three horizontal bands, from top, green, white-edged black and yellow. There is a red triangle on the hoist side, centred around a yellow star bearing an open white book on which are depicted a crossed AK47 and a hoe in black.

 

Mozambique’s most popular areas:

Maputo

The capital of Mozambique and of the country’s smallest, most densely populated and most southerly province, Maputo is a bustling, attractive port city with a population of at least 1.5 million. Formerly called Lourenco Marques (LM for short), it is situated in the far south of Mozambique on the Gulf of Maputo (formerly Delagoa Bay) within 100km of the South Africa and Swaziland borders. Maputo is better connected to South Africa than it is to the rest of Mozambique and there is a saying that likens Mozambique to a funnel – all money flows down to the south. The image of Maputo is an intensely agreeable city – definitely one that grows the longer you stay there.

Its avenues are wide and tree lined, and for every run-down, peeling building there is another that is well maintained and smart. The streets and markets are busy and boasts fewer pot-holes than in many cities in east Africa. The drivers tend to be courteous and somewhat less manic than in either Tanzania or Kenya.

That’s not to say that Maputo doesn’t have its share of poverty – you will see run-down shacks and beggars – but it would be equally false to say that the city is mired in slums along the lines of Nairobi or Johannesburg.

Arrive in Maputo without prejudice and it is, quite simply, a most likeable city – as safe as any in Africa, and with a good deal more character than most. The jacaranda, flame tree and palm-lined avenidas with their numerous street cafes have a relaxed, hassle-free, Africa-meets-Mediterranean atmosphere that is distinctively Mozambican. Along the avenidas are any number of attractive old buildings in various states of renovation and disrepair, dwarfed at times by the rather incongruous high-rise relics of the 1950s and 1960s (the city was something of a laboratory for devotees of the Bauhaus architectural style during this period). Add to these a new crop of office buildings, shopping complexes, hotels and condominiums – with more under construction – and you get the impression that this is a town not only with a memorable past but also a bright future. Maputo has a beautiful location at the mouth of the Matola, Umbeluzi and Tembe rivers on the Indian Ocean; it boasts a lively nightlife and some of the most vibrant markets in Africa. It is, in short, a compulsive and endlessly rewarding city, and an absolute must on any tourist itinerary of Mozambique. It really isn’t after all that far from Lourenco Marques in the ‘good old days’ so often alluded to by sentimental white South Africans, except that Mozambicans are free to enjoy their capital city as well as the Portuguese and tourists.

 

Inhambane Province

The long coastal belt of Inhambane Province is the most developed part of Mozambique in tourist terms, boasting a sequence of idyllic and relatively low-key resorts, most of which are practically unvisited except during South African, and to the lesser extent Zimbabwean, school holidays. There is not a huge amount of variation between the resorts, all of them being predominantly of interest for beach and marine activities – fishing, snorkelling and diving, bird watching and so on. The exception to this in Inhambane, a charming little town that also happens to be the capital of the province.

The beach resorts along this stretch of coast tend to be booked solid during South African school holidays – as a very rough guide in June, July and December – and during this period, it is advisable to make advance bookings, whether you are camping or looking for a room. Most South African tourists head straight for one or other of the beach resorts, so school holidays have less effect on room availability in towns such as Maxixe, Inhambane and Xai-Xai.

 

Vilanculos

This small but sprawling town is the focal point of tourism in Mozambique. It’s something of a melting pot, containing at any one time its fair share of backpackers, upmarket travellers, and South African and Zimbabwean family holiday makers. Consequently it has a diverse a range of accommodation and other tourist facilities as you will find in Mozambique. It is also the easiest place from which to access the islands of the Bazaruto Archipelago. All of this has made Vilanculos the most popular – if not the most attractive – place to stop between Maputo and Beira.

 

Bazaruto Archipelago

The Bazaruto Archipelago consists of a string of small sandy islands lying roughly 15 – 25km from the mainland north of Vilanculos and south of Inhassoro. One of the few parts of Mozambique that was safe to visit during the closing years of the civil war, the Bazaruto Islands have developed an upmarket package-based tourist industry that functions in near isolation from the rest of the country. Most visitors to the islands fly directly there from Johannesburg without even setting foot on the Mozambican mainland.

 

Gorongosa National Park

Gorongosa National Park covers a total area of 8,200km² and is the flagship of Mozambique’s conservation and wildlife rehabilitation projects. Back in the Portuguese era it was regarded as one of the finest game parks in southern African region, but it’s been through rough times since independence, particularly during the civil war when Renamo’s main base was nearby and the wildlife in the park was used as a food source. Since the end of the civil war an awful lot of work has been done, clearing land mines, opening up the access roads and rebuilding the campsite and lodge, and the anti-poaching programme has been remarkably successful. A reintroduction programme of the larger mammals is underway, although this is likely to take several years to come to fruition.

 

Cahora Bassa Dam

Situated on the Zambezi in the north of Tete Province, Cahora Bassa Dam is the fifth largest dam in the world and its dam’s one of Africa’s ten largest bodies of water, covering an area of 2,660km². Construction of the 300m-wide and 160m-high concrete wall started in 1969 and, despite Frelimo’s attempts at sabotage, it was completed in 1974. Cahora Bassa in potentially Africa’s largest supplier of hydro-electric power and a vital source of foreign revenue for Mozambique.

 

Niassa National Reserve

Niassa’s development has been held back by its isolation, but this has also meant that much of the countryside has remained undamaged. The Niassa Reserve was established in 1962 and is the largest reserve in Mozambique, covering 42,000km² of brachystegia forest. To give a comparison, that is about the same size as Denmark. Of this area the core zone covers 22,000km² while the remainder is classed as buffer zones and in turn divided into management concessions, each dedicated to various forms of tourism. Getting there is not easy, but once you are there you have another opportunity to see wildlife that is genuinely wild. While there is a camp in the core zone at Mecula, visiting a concession management zone is more realistic. Wildlife in the reserve includes buffalo, impala, wildebeest, zebra, elephant and over 400 types of birds.

 

Pemba

Formerly known as Porto Amelia, Pemba – the capital of Cabo Delgado Province – is a relatively modern town by coastland standards. Lying on the site of a failed Portuguese attempt to build a colony in Cabo Delgado in 1857, the modern town was founded in 1904 as an administrative centre for the Niassa Company. By the late 1920s the old town centre had more or less taken its present shape, and it supported a population of over 1,500. More recently, Pemba was largely untouched by both the liberation and civil wars, despite being in one of the most unsettled provinces, and its generally less run-down in appearance than most Mozambican towns.

Pemba Town is situated on the tip of a peninsula on the southern side of Pemba Bay, a huge and semi-enclosed natural harbour. The beaches are wide, sandy and clean, and lined with palm trees. A coral reef protects the beach and guarantees safe swimming as well as good snorkelling. Pemba has enormous potential as a tourist resort, though it is currently rather off the beaten track and likely to remain so until such a time as airfares from Maputo drop.

 

The Quirimba National Park

The Quirimba Archipelago consists of 32 small islands strung out along the Mozambique coast, and stretches almost 400km northwards from Pemba to the town of Palma. Its total area is 750,639hs. In 2002, it became part of the Quirimba National Park. The islands are lushly vegetated and the surrounding shallows support extensive mangrove swamps and a wide range of wading birds. The islands also protect an important breeding colony of sooty terns and a variety of turtles: hawksbill, green, loggerhead and leatherback.

 

Ilha Do Ibo

The small town of Ibo lies on the island of the same name, part of the Quirimba Archipelago. Ibo is one of the most ancient settlements in Mozambique, and after Ilha do Mozambique is arguably the most fascinating and atmospheric town in the country. By mainstream tourism standards, Ibo is still one of Africa’s best kept secrets. Access, accommodation and tourist facilities are improving steadily, however, and the increasing number of visitors who do make the effort to get there may well regard it as the highlight of their time in Mozambique.