Afrinkong
Nature & Landscapes
Reef and Miombo
Coral reef the whole coast, miombo woodland inland, and the Rift's southern end at Gorongosa.
Southern Africa · Afrinkong
Mozambique
Two thousand kilometres of coast.
The Indian Ocean coast of southern Africa — the Bazaruto and Quirimbas archipelagos, Ilha de Moçambique, Gorongosa's restored wildlife, and a Portuguese-Swahili culture that exists nowhere else.
Where it is
Africa · Southern Africa · Mozambique
The land in brief
- Spans
- 1,090 km E–W, 1,800 km N–S
- Latitude
- 11°S to 27°S
- Borders
- 6 countries
- Sea
- Has a coast
- Best time
- Dry, clear and calm on the coast from April to October.
Also in Southern Africa
AngolaThe Kalandula falls, and a coast nobody has seenBotswanaA delta that never reaches the seaEswatiniSmall, and full of everythingLesothoThe kingdom in the skyMalawiA lake with more fish species than any other
Compare Mozambique with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
Dry, clear and calm on the coast from April to October.
01Highlights
What Mozambique is known for.
Six of the twenty-seven, and the ones most people come for. The rest are below — and none of them is filler.
Nature & Landscapes
Wildlife
Gorongosa
A park that lost almost everything in the war and has spent twenty years getting it back.
Mountains
Mount Namuli and Gorongosa
Namuli at 2,419 metres, and Gorongosa's own mountain with rainforest on top of it.
Bazaruto and the Quirimbas
Dune islands in the south, coral islands in the north, and dhows between them.
Coastal Forest
The coastal dry forest of the north, and the mangrove that lines most of the delta.
Culture
Portuguese and Swahili
Five hundred years of Portuguese on a Swahili coast, and a culture made from both.
02Experiences
25 ways to spend the time.
Every country we cover works through the same twenty-seven categories, so you can hold two of them side by side and compare like with like rather than one brochure against another. Compare Mozambique with another → The two not listed here are the hero picture and the case for going, which has a section of its own below.
Landscapes
- Reef and MiomboCoral reef the whole coast, miombo woodland inland, and the Rift's southern end at Gorongosa.
- Mount Namuli and GorongosaNamuli at 2,419 metres, and Gorongosa's own mountain with rainforest on top of it.
- Murchison of the SouthWaterfalls off the Zambezi escarpment, and the Lugenda's rapids in the far north.
- The Zambezi and Cahora BassaThe Zambezi's last five hundred kilometres, and the Cahora Bassa lake above them.
- Bazaruto and the QuirimbasDune islands in the south, coral islands in the north, and dhows between them.
- Coastal ForestThe coastal dry forest of the north, and the mangrove that lines most of the delta.
Wildlife
- GorongosaA park that lost almost everything in the war and has spent twenty years getting it back.
- Niassa and GorongosaNiassa is one of the largest reserves in Africa, and among the least visited anywhere.
- Gorongosa's RestorationLocal employment, local science, and a park brought back from nothing — worth understanding.
- Dive and SailWhale shark season at Tofo, dhow safaris in the Quirimbas, and reef diving throughout.
People and culture
- Portuguese and SwahiliFive hundred years of Portuguese on a Swahili coast, and a culture made from both.
- Makonde and MakuaMakonde carving in the north, and the Makua women's mussiro face paint.
- Marrabenta and TimbilaMarrabenta on the coast, and the Chopi timbila orchestras of Inhambane.
- Carving and BasketryMakonde blackwood carving, and the palm basketry of the northern islands.
- Peri-Peri and MatapaPrawns with peri-peri, and matapa — cassava leaf and coconut — with rice.
- Warm Water All YearShallow, warm and calm inside the reef — as easy a sea as the continent offers.
- The Beach MarketFish landed and sold on the sand, and the dhow that brought it still on the beach.
Places
- MaputoWide avenues, a Mediterranean seafront, and the market Eiffel's company built.
- Coral Stone and ColonialCoral rag on the islands, and Portuguese modernism through Maputo and Beira.
- Ilha de MoçambiqueThe old capital, on a coral island a kilometre long, with a fort at one end.
- The Swahili CoastIbo, Angoche and Sofala — Indian Ocean trading towns older than the Portuguese.
Ways to travel
- Dive, Sail, KayakManta and whale shark at Tofo, dhow safaris in the Quirimbas, and kayaks in the mangrove.
- Island LodgesA handful of very good island lodges in Bazaruto and the Quirimbas, and little else on them.
- Dhow LightLateen sails at either end of the day, and water that photographs as three colours at once.
- Ibo IslandSilversmiths, a fort, mangrove channels, and about as far from a resort as it gets.
03Why go
The case for Mozambique.
Why Visit This Country
The Coast Nobody Has Ruined Yet
Two thousand kilometres of Indian Ocean, and most of it still without a road to it.
Hidden Gems
Ibo Island
Silversmiths, a fort, mangrove channels, and about as far from a resort as it gets.
Eco Tourism
Gorongosa's Restoration
Local employment, local science, and a park brought back from nothing — worth understanding.
Heritage
The Swahili Coast
Ibo, Angoche and Sofala — Indian Ocean trading towns older than the Portuguese.
04Go deeper
All of Mozambique, four ways in.
Who would take youAfrinkong
The ground is ours right across Africa: your vehicle, your driver for the whole journey, and the days shaped around what you came for.
In Cameroon, Uganda and Namibia you travel with companies of our own as well.
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Begin
Your Mozambique starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.