Mozambique
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There's plenty to see in Mozambique, including stunning beaches and islands, a World Heritage site, charming colonial architecture and colorful local cultures, but get here soon before the tourist masses arrive.
Mozambique Facts & FiguresMozambique is located on the southeastern coast of Africa and is bordered by Tanzania to the North, South Africa and Swaziland to the South, Zimbabwe to the West and Zambia and Malawi to the northwest.
Mozambique is made up mainly of coastal lowlands, rising toward the west to a high plateau. The most important rivers are the Zambezi flowing southeast across the center of Mozambique into the Indian Ocean, the Limpopo in the south, the Save in the middle and the Lugfenda in the north. The most important lake is the navigable Lake Niassa. In the river valleys and deltas, the soil is rich and fertile, but southern and central Mozambique have poor and sandy soil, and parts of the interior are dry.
about Mozambique
Attractions
Mozambicans are putting their shattered past behind them and rebuilding their country at a remarkable pace. There's plenty to see, including stunning beaches and islands, a World Heritage site, charming colonial architecture and colorful local cultures, but get here soon before the tourist masses arrive.
 Bazaruto |
Bazaruto Archipelago National Park This archipelago consists of five main islands: Bazaruto, Benguera, Magaruque, Santa Carolina and tiny Bangué. It's about as close to a tropical paradise as you'll find, and is one of Mozambique's highlights. Among its attractions: clear, turquoise waters; tranquil, white-sand beaches; a plethora of colorful birds; and rewarding diving and snorkelling. The larger islands were originally connected to the mainland at Ponta São Sebastião. The small population of Nile crocodiles that laze in the sun in remote corners of both Bazaruto and Benguera islands is evidence of this earlier link. Thanks to this protected status, and to the archipelago's relative isolation from the ravages of war on the mainland, nature bursts forth here in full force. Most impressive, perhaps, are the elusive dugong who spend their days foraging among sea-grass meadows around the archipelago. |
 Pemba |
Pemba Pemba is a coastal town at the mouth of a huge bay. It boasts some interesting buildings (especially in Baixa - the old town) and a lively atmosphere. Most visitors come for the beaches - particularly Wimbi Beach (sometimes spelt Wimbe) - and the coral reefs. Wimbi is about 5km (3mi) east of town. The reef is close enough to swim to. A fledgling tourist industry is already transforming the place with bars, restaurants, diving, snorkelling, boating, and fishing. The Makonde workshop on the road between town and the beach has good wooden carvings for sale at good prices. |
 Quirimbas |
Quirimbas Archipelago The Quirimbas Archipelago stretches for 100 kilometres along the northern Mozambique coast. The untouched archipelago offers some of the richest coral reefs in the world and provide habitat for an abundant array of marine life. Pemba is the access point for the Quirimbas Archipelago. This Archipelago is another pristine destination, although more remote and less frequented than Bazaruto Archipelago. Snorkelling, fishing and diving in these waters doesn't get better than this! |
 Maputo |
Maputo Maputo is the capital of Mozambique and is a colonial and Portugese town. Situated in southern Mozambique, Maputo is a bustling city of modern industry, laid back beach living and historical buildings and attractions. Maputo offers a number of nearby beaches to explore, working up an appetite for delicious seafood dishes and Portuguese wines. Thirty kilometres/19 miles north of Maputo is the village of Marracuene and the Incomati River. There is a scenic 20-minute boat trip from the Complexo Turistico Macaneta down the Incomati River to Macaneta beach. |
 Inhaca Island |
Inhaca Island Inhaca Island is famous for its beaches and warm translucent waters. Although Inhaca is only one-half mile wide and one mile long, all the ingredients of a perfect island holiday are to be found in this tranquil haven. Wildlife likely to be seen on Inhaca Island includes loggerhead turtles and birds such as pelicans, flamingoes, white-faced owls and whimbrels. |
 Vilanculos |
Vilanculos Vilanculos has been established as a popular tourist destination and gives you a great insight into the characteristically friendly Mozambicans. Ideal for exploring the Bazaruto Archipalgo, Vilancoulos also offers its own magnificent beaches and attractions. |
Accommodations
Mozambique offers a wide range of accommodations.
| Benguerra Lodge Benguerra Lodge is set amidst indigenous milkwood trees overlooking Benguerra Bay. The Lodge consists of an open-fronted thatch-and-reed main building embracing the lounge, bar and dining room area flanked by secluded chalets. Built on stilts, each chalet offers en suite facilities and a private balcony. Activities include excellent snorkelling and scuba diving on the breathtaking reefs, viewing the vast array of colorful fish and extraordinary-shaped coral. A highlight would be to see dugongs or green turtles, while goldies, blue-banded snappers, rubberlips, potato and brindle bass, manta and eagle rays, kingfish and frogfish, to name a few, are regularly encountered. You may go windsurfing and sailing by hobiecat or enjoy a sunset sail on a dhow. Birding is spectacular at Benguerra. |
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 Vamizi Island |
Vamizi Island Lodge This magnificent 24-bed lodge is built on the northern side of the island and looks towards Rongui from the end of a long powder-sand beach with crystal clear waters teeming with marine wildlife. The roofs of the lodge are makuti (palm) thatch, based on the Mozambican style, with an emphasis on space and openness. The bathrooms have a solid slab of marble forming the wall of the shower, and hand-carved screens which provide the privacy and aesthetic detail of a Zanzibar palace. |
 Dugong Beach Lodge |
Dugong Beach Lodge Situated on the East-African seaboard on the coast of Mozambique within the boundaries of the Vilanculos Coastal Wildlife Sanctuary, the first privately managed National Park in Mozambique. This diverse eco-system of bush and wetland, with its powder white beaches and crystal clear water is host to a magnificent array of fish, dolphin and very importantly, the nearly extinct dugong. Shallow and deepwater reefs reveal beautiful creatures such as the green and leatherback turtles, sailfish, manta ray, to name a few. Seasonally, the large flocks of flamingo and pelican are a sight to behold. |
 L'Heure Bleve Hotel |
Quilalea Quilálea is a luxurious private island resort that lies 35 miles north of Pemba city and eight miles from the mainland town of Quisanga. It is in a marine sanctuary in Mozambique’s Quirimbas archipelago, a 500,000 hectare reserve area endorsed by the WWF. Accommodation consists of spacious, coral rock villas with palm tree thatched roofs and a large private teak veranda with panoramic sea views. |
Mozambique at a Glance
 Tourism |
Economy Under Portuguese rule Mozambique was a major exporter of sugar, copra (the meaty lining of coconuts), cotton, rice, tea, and cashews. Mozambique also exported labor in enormous quantities, as the colonial government received compensation for the hundreds of thousands of Mozambicans who traveled to work in the mines of South Africa and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Railroads, ports, and tourism also provided significant income and made services an important part of the country’s economy before independence. a peace accord ended the civil war in 1992, the United Nations (UN) coordinated a large program to restore the economy; the program’s priorities were the resettling of refugees and reopening of ports and communication facilities. |
 Education |
Education Although the Portuguese invested heavily in education in the last decade of their rule, for centuries before that they actively suppressed African education. As a result, 90 percent of Mozambicans were believed to be illiterate at independence in 1975. The first Mozambican government mounted a campaign for literacy and made education compulsory for children from ages 6 to 12, or for a total of 7 years. Schooling, however, was disrupted by the civil war, continuing only in the towns that escaped the fighting. By 2004 only 49 of the population was literate. In 2000–2001 an estimated 92 percent of primary-school-aged children attended school, and only 12 percent of secondary-school-aged children were enrolled. |
 Geography |
Geography Mozambique’s 1,535 miles of coastline occupy about one-third of the seaboard of eastern Africa. Most of Mozambique’s coastline is low-lying, consisting of swamps or sandy beaches, and backed by thin forest and grassland, which cover about two-fifths of the country. Farther inland are several mountainous regions formed by the edge of the southern African plateau that extends into Mozambique from the west. The mountainous regions are the Lebombo Mountains in the south; the Manica and Gorongosa highlands along the Zimbabwe border, home to Mount Binga, Mozambique’s highest peak at 7,992 feet; the Angonia Highlands and the Namuli Peaks in the north; and another mountainous region in the north along Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa. From the mountains and uplands, many rivers spring forth and flow east to the sea. Central Mozambique is dominated by the valley of the Zambezi, one of the world’s largest rivers and the fourth longest in Africa. To the north, the Ruvuma and Lugenda rivers are sources of water and irrigation, while south of the Zambezi, the Pungwe, Save (Sabi), Limpopo, and Komati rivers are important resources. Most of Mozambique’s rivers fluctuate wildly in volume between the wet and dry seasons, and continually shift their shallow channels. |
 Government |
Civil War In 1962 a group of exiled Mozambicans led by Eduardo Mondlane met in Tanzania and formed the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo, from Frente de Libertação de Moçambique). Two years later, Frelimo launched a guerrilla war against Portuguese Mozambique. The Portuguese countered the insurrection with arms and, in an attempt to pacify the people of Mozambique, a major development program. Many roads, schools, and hospitals were built, stimulating rapid economic growth. In 1969 work began on the Cabora Bassa Dam, which was to be the showpiece of Portuguese development policies. Only after Portugal underwent a tumultuous revolution in April 1974 did the colonial regime in Mozambique begin to crumble. In July 1975 power was formally transferred to Frelimo, and Mozambique became independent. The Frelimo government introduced far-reaching reforms, including rights for women and the collectivization of agriculture. It also introduced a Marxist-Leninist constitution that brought the economy under the control of the state, and it supported the liberation movements of blacks in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa. In return, Southern Rhodesia and South Africa sponsored an anticommunist Mozambican guerrilla movement seeking the overthrow of the Frelimo government. This guerrilla group became known as the Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo, from Resistência Nacional Mocambiçana). Beginning in 1980 Renamo targeted and destroyed government installations, industries, schools, and infrastructure. Within a short time, the government could be certain of control over only a few cities, and travel about the country could be undertaken safely only by air. In time Renamo gained control over much of the country as increasing numbers of Mozambicans grew disaffected with government policies or were intimidated by a wide range of Renamo terror tactics. In 1984, with his country’s economy in ruins and tens of thousands of his citizens killed, President Samora Moises Machel sought to end South Africa’s logistical and military support for Renamo by signing the Nkomati Accord. Under the accord, Mozambique agreed to end its support for the African National Congress, which was battling South Africa’s rigid policy of racial segregation known as apartheid. In return, South Africa vowed to stop supplying Renamo. Machel also began to move Frelimo away from its outright Marxist orientation that had antagonized Western and internal critics. The war continued nonetheless, and thousands of people died yearly in the fighting or from associated disease and malnutrition. In 1986 President Machel died in an airplane crash, and Joachim Chissano, the foreign minister, was elected to succeed him. further reading These sources provide additional information on Mozambique. In 1990 the government adopted a new constitution that firmly disavowed Marxism-Leninism, established Mozambique as a multiparty democracy, and guaranteed the freedom of expression. The new constitution paved the way for peace talks between Frelimo and Renamo, and in October 1992 the two groups signed an accord that ended the civil war. |
People of Mozambique
The people of Mozambique generally speak at least one of eight native languages, which in turn partially defines their ethnicity. Most of the languages are Bantu in origin.
 Daily Life |
Way of Life During the 20th century, the coastal cities attracted large Indian, European, and mixed-race populations, creating a melting pot of customs, languages, and cuisine. Many foreigners and people with foreign connections fled the country during the civil war, but the mix of cultures slowly revived in the late 1990s. The civil war also forced a large number of refugees from the countryside into the cities. South of the Zambezi, migrant laborers returning from South Africa have brought home Western goods and ideas, while north of the Zambezi, cultural traditions are typically more conservative. Patrilineal societies, that is, those that trace their heritage and descent through the father’s line, dominate south of the Zambezi River. North of the river, all of the ethnic groups except the Nguni are matrilineal, tracing their family through the mother’s line. Throughout urban and rural Mozambique, soccer is by far the most popular sport. |
 Culture |
Culture Many of the cultural traditions of the Mozambican people survived centuries of colonialism. The Makonde in the north are renowned for their ebony sculptures and masks. The Chopi of the south central coast are famous for their complex musical arrangements and dance. Mozambique’s tradition of visual art has produced several modern artists who have achieved international renown. One of the most famous Mozambican artists is Malangatana, whose paintings portray the sufferings of the colonial period and the civil war. A portion of Mozambique’s historic architecture survived the civil war intact. Many of the coastal towns, especially in the Muslim north, feature buildings with Islamic arches and columns. The island town of Moçambique, also in the north, has several Portuguese-style churches and military and public buildings dating to the earliest colonial days. |
Wildlife Habitats
The vegetation of lowland Mozambique is predominantly light forest and grassland, while on the coast mangroves grow in the swamps and palms line the beaches. Tropical rain forests once stood south of the Zambezi Delta, but they have all been cut down. Forests become denser in the higher elevations, particularly along the border with Zimbabwe. Until recent times, Mozambique supported a large and varied animal population. Elephants, water buffaloes, hippopotamuses, crocodiles, baboons, giraffes, lions, cobras, adders, flamingos, herons, buzzards, and other animals thrived throughout much of the region. However, much of the country’s animal habitat has been destroyed by decades of human encroachment and by civil warfare.
 Green Turtle |
Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands This habitat features diversity of large mammal populations that make up the well-known savanna fauna. Much of the region remains sparsely settled and the resulting human population pressures are minimal. |
 Flooded Plains |
Montane Grasslands and Shrublands This habitat supports a rich array of plants and animals, including some species that are restricted to a single mountain. The ecoregion supports large numbers of endemic grassland plants. |
Wildlife Sightings
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Questions About Mozambique
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Africa Guide
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Lonely Planet: Destinations
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Lonely Planet: Traveler Reports
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World Wildlife Fund: Global Ecoregions
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