Top Places to Visit In Mozambique On Your Next Vacation

Galinha asada is flame-grilled chicken usually marinated in piri-piri. However, another very popular version is galinha à Zambeziana – prepared with coconut milk and from the Zambezia region in Northern Mozambique. The taste of coconut is subtle but delicious and is a great pairing with the charcoal flavour of the grilled chicken.

Matapa is made with cassava leaves, which are first pounded and then cooked with onion, garlic and coconut milk. Cassava leaves are eaten in other African countries, especially those neighbouring Mozambique. There are various recipes for matapa all over the country, which include cooking it with peanuts, beans and seafood, such as crab and prawns. It is usually eaten with rice or xima and is widely popular.

This punchy pickle is made with unripe mangoes that are still green. The mangoes are cut and preserved in oil, piri-piri and spices, such as mustard and fennel seeds. The longer you leave it, the more pungent and spicier it becomes. Adding a little bit to your meal will elevate the flavour to a whole other level, and it can be eaten with all sorts of curries and stews. There are various kinds of achar, but the mango one is the most popular.

Mozambique has plentiful fresh seafood, from stonefish and clams to lobster and crabs. The most popular of all are prawns, which are available in all sizes and used in many dishes. Although a more expensive delicacy in other parts of the world, where they’re often found on menus, prawns in Mozambique are affordable and commonly eaten. A typical style of preparation is to grill them with piri-piri or make a prawn curry with coconut milk. Both are delicious and must-try dishes.

Top Places to Visit In Mozambique On Your Next Vacation

Island of Mozambique

The Island of Mozambique lies off northern Mozambique, between the Mozambique Channel and Mossuril Bay, and is part of Nampula Province. Prior to 1898, it was the capital of colonial Portuguese East Africa. With its rich history and sandy beaches, the Island of Mozambique is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of Mozambique’s fastest growing tourist destinations. It has a permanent population of approximately 14,000 people and is served by nearby Lumbo Airport on the Nampula mainland. The name of the country, Mozambique, is derived from the name of this island.

Benguerra Island

Benguerra Island in Mozambique is the second largest island in the Bazaruto Archipelago, which broke away from the mainland thousands of years ago. The island is approximately 55 square kilometers, and lies 14km offshore. Portuguese explorers also gave the island the name Santa Antonio. It is famous for its unspoiled white beaches, dive sites, luxury resorts, horseback riding and fishing.

Gorongosa National Park

Gorongosa National Park is at the southern end of the Great African Rift Valley in the heart of central Mozambique, Southeast Africa. The more than 4,000 square kilometres park includes the valley floor and parts of surrounding plateaus. Rivers originating on nearby Mount Gorongosa water the plain. Seasonal flooding and waterlogging of the valley, which is composed of a mosaic of different soil types, creates a variety of distinct ecosystems. Grasslands are dotted with patches of acacia trees, savannah, dry forest on sands and seasonally rain-filled pans, and termite hill thickets. The plateaus contain miombo and montane forests and a spectacular rain forest at the base of a series of limestone gorges. This combination of unique features at one time supported some of the densest wildlife populations in all of Africa, including charismatic carnivores, herbivores, and over 500 bird species. But large mammal numbers were reduced by as much as 95% and ecosystems were stressed during Mozambique’s long civil conflict at the end of the 20th century.

Ibo Island

Ibo is one of the Quirimbas Islands in the Indian Ocean off northern Mozambique. It is part of Cabo Delgado Province. It grew as a Muslim trading port. Vasco da Gama reportedly rested on the island in 1502. The island was fortified in 1609 by the Portuguese. In the late eighteenth century, Portuguese colonialists built the Fort of São João, which still survives, and the town, as a slave port, became the second most important in the region after Mozambique Island. The island is now a far quieter place, known for its silversmiths. During the war of independence against Portugal, many members of FRELIMO and other nationalist organisations were imprisoned and killed at the fort. The first president of independent Mozambique stated in 1983 that “Every palm tree on the island is fertilised by the bodies of the Mozambicans who were betrayed and killed by PIDE agents” Ibo forms part of the Quirimbas National Park and is linked by dhows to the mainland at Tandanhangue. In April 2019, Cyclone Kenneth hit the island and it was reported that 90% of the homes were destroyed

Medjumbe Island

Medjumbe Island is one of the Quirimbas Islands off the northern coast of Mozambique, within the Quirimbas National Park. It is privately owned, operated as an exclusive resort. Accommodations are 13 thatched wooden chalets. The island is 1 kilometre long and 500 metres wide. It is surrounded by spectacular coral reefs. Tourist activities include diving and snorkeling, windsurfing and deep sea fishing.

Ilha de Magaruque

Magaruque Island, formerly Ilha Santa Isabel, is part of the Bazaruto Archipelago, off the coast of Mozambique. It is located 5.6 km south of Benguerra Island, and 9.9 km east of Ponta Chuè on the mainland of Mozambique. The island is 2.4 km long north-south, and up to 1.0 km wide. Its area is less than 2 km². Top Places to Visit In Mozambique On Your Next Vacation

Limpopo National Park

The Limpopo National Park was born when the status of Coutada 16 Wildlife Utilisation Area in Gaza Province, Mozambique, was changed from a hunting concession to a protected area. It forms part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park with the Kruger National Park in South Africa and the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe.

Quirimbas National Park

The Quirimbas National Park is a protected area in the Cabo Delgado Province of Mozambique, encompassing the southern part of the Quirimbas Islands, as well as a significant mainland area. The mainland region of Taratibua contain various inselbergs.

Maputo Special Reserve

Maputo Special Reserve is a nature reserve in Mozambique. The reserve is located on Maputo Bay, approximately 100 kilometers southeast of the city of Maputo, Mozambique. The Reserve is 1,040 sq km in extent and was originally proclaimed in 1932 to protect a small population of coastal elephants resident in the area. The reserve combines lakes, wetlands, swamp forests, grasslands and mangrove forests with a coastline that lies within the Maputaland Centre of Endemism. According to the latest data, the number of elephants in the reserve is about 400. The reserve will eventually form part of the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area, which includes national parks from South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland. Currently it forms part of the Usuthu-Tembe-Futi Transfrontier Conservation Area. In 2018 the transfrontier conservation group Peace Parks Foundation signed a partnership agreement with the Mozambique government to support the management and development of the Maputo Special Reserve and adjacent Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve. This comprised US$16 million donated by a number of donors, including the Reinet Foundation, Wyss Foundation and World Bank funded MozBio programme.

Portuguese Island

Little island with beaches & local fare

Bazaruto Archipelago National Marine Park

The Bazaruto Archipelago National Park is a protected area in the Inhambane Province of Mozambique on the Bazaruto Archipelago. The park was proclaimed on 25 May 1971. It is off the coast of the Vilanculos and Inhassoro districts, covering a large expanse of ocean and six islands.

Niassa Reserve

Niassa Reserve is a nature reserve in Cabo Delgado Province and Niassa Province, Mozambique. Covering over 42,000 square kilometres, it is the largest protected area in the country. The reserve is part of the Trans-Frontier Conservation Area and links to the Tanzanian Lukwika-Lumesule Game Reserve. It will connect to the Lake Niassa Reserve when it is completed.

Santa Carolina

Santa Carolina is an island between the Mozambican mainland and Bazaruto Island in Mozambique. The closest town is called Inhassoro. It is just 2 by 0.3 miles in size. Santa Carolina is a true rock island with deep channels. Santa Carolina has three beaches with coral reefs close to the shore. The island, also known as Paradise Island is regarded as the ‘gem’ of the islands forming the Bazaruto Archipelago which is a proclaimed marine national park. The island was used for season 3 of Survivor South Africa.

Barra Beach

Barra Beach or simply Barra is a tourist beach in southeastern Mozambique. This holiday settlement lies on the Indian Ocean coast, on the Ponta da Barra peninsula in Inhambane Province, 25 km drive from Inhambane city. A major Mozambican tourist destination, Barra is home to beach resorts, private vacation homes, restaurants and diving charters. Snorkeling is popular below the Barra Lighthouse at low tide where there is a natural tidal pool. The wreck of the SS Inharrime, an Italian built cargo ship that ran aground in 1949, lies exposed nearby. The Barra and Tofo area is one of the global hotspots for divers to see whale sharks, sea turtles and manta rays.

Museu de Historia Natural

Wildlife exhibits in a 1900s building

Macaneta Beach

Macaneta Beach is a beach located in Mozambique.

Cahora Bassa Dam

The Cahora Bassa Dam is located in Mozambique. It is one of the three major dams on the Zambezi river system, the others being the Kariba and the Itezhi-Tezhi, the latter on the Kafue River, a tributary of the Zambezi. The dam was finished in December 1974 after much political debate. This dam is used to convert the Zambezi River power into electricity by turning turbines. That energy is then sent to South African cities, farms, and mines. The Cahora Bassa dam forms Cahora Bassa Lake. The dam is jointly owned by Mozambique and Portugal. From independence till 2007, eighteen percent of the dam and lake was owned by Mozambique and eighty-two percent by Portugal. Portugal sold down its share to 15 percent in 2007. The Cahora Bassa dam is the largest hydroelectric power plant in southern Africa and the most efficient power generating station in Mozambique.

Fortaleza de Sao Sebastao

The Fort of São Sebastião lies at the northern end of Stone Town on the Island of Mozambique. It is the oldest complete fort still standing in sub-Saharan Africa. Construction by the Portuguese began in 1558, and it took about fifty years to complete. Immediately beyond the fort is the recently restored Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte, built in 1522, which is considered to be the oldest European building in the southern hemisphere. It is also one of the best examples of Manueline vaulted architecture in Mozambique.

Ilha Xefina Pequena

Tunduru Botanical Gardens

Tranquil, 19th-century gardens

Catedral de Maputo

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is a Roman Catholic cathedral in downtown Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. The cathedral is located on Praça da Independência next to Hotel Rovuma and Maputo City Hall. It is dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The foundation stone for the construction of the church was laid on June 28, 1936, and is located inside the narthex and inscribed by the Bishop of Mozambique and Cape Verde, D. Rafael Maria da Asunção. Construction on the cathedral was completed in 1944. The cathedral was designed by the Portuguese civil engineer Marcial Simões de Freitas e Costa, then a railway director. He designed the church pro bono for the Archdiocese of Lourenço Marques. Freitas was inspired by the simple style and building materials of church construction in Europe of the time; the cathedral was ultimately built of concrete and cement. He was inspired to buildings such as the Notre-Dame du Raincy in Le Raincy by Auguste Perret and Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Fátima in Lisbon, built by Pardal Monteiro. The simplicity and the choice of new materials was also a result of financial problems of the period.

Machangulo

The Machangulo peninsula is situated in the southernmost part of Mozambique adjacent to Inhaca and Portuguese Islands in the Maputo Bay.

Tofinho

Tofinho Beach or simply Tofinho is a tourist Beach, Monument and Residential area in southeastern Mozambique. This holiday settlement lies on the Indian Ocean coast, on the Ponta da Barra peninsula in Inhambane Province, 1.5km south of Tofo, 25km Northeast of Inhambane in Mozambique.

Zinave National Park

The Zinave National Park is a protected area in Mabote District of Inhambane Province, Mozambique, created by decree on 26 June 1973.

Banhine National Park

Banhine National Park is a protected area in northern Gaza Province, Mozambique. The park was established on 26 June 1973. In 2013 the limits of Park were updated to better reflect the realities on the ground, particularly the human presence in the area

Fortress of Maputo

Museum in a restored 18th-century fort

Ponta Beach Camps – Main Camp

Beach and camping

Quirimba

Praia de Jangamo

Beach

Praia do Xai-Xai

Praia do Xai-Xai is a beach which is a tourist destination in Mozambique. Located approximately 10 kilometers from Xai-Xai, the seat of Mozambique’s Gaza Province, the beach attracts visitors who are interested in exploring the massive coral reef that runs parallel to the shoreline.

Casa de Ferro

19th-century governor-general’s home

Kaya Kweru

Saint Anthony Catholic Church

Architecture and modernism

Serra da Gorongosa

Mount Gorongosa is an inselberg in Sofala Province of central Mozambique. Its highest peak, Gogogo, reaches an elevation of 1,863 meters. It was created by Karoo Volcanism. The upper zone of the mountain was made part of Gorongosa National Park by the Mozambican government in 2010. The main part of the park lies at a lower elevation to the east of the mountain. Top Places to Visit In Mozambique On Your Next Vacation

Castelo Do Mar

Beach

PRAIA DO WIMBE

Mount Namuli

Mount Namuli is the second highest mountain in Mozambique and the highest in the Province of Zambezia. It is 2,420 m high and was measured, surveyed and described in 1886 by Henry Edward O’Neill, the British consul in Mozambique. The Namuli massif consists of a level plateau with the granite dome of Mount Namuli above. The area was historically clad in tropical rainforest and is an important biodiversity hotspot with many endemic species of animals and plants. The lower slopes are now mainly used for the cultivation of tea and the middle slopes for other agricultural purposes, with indigenous forest now mostly restricted to the higher parts and corridors along water courses.

Capela de Nossa Senhora Baluarte

The Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte is located on the most eastern tip of the Island of Mozambique within Stone Town. The island sits off the coast of Mozambique in Africa. The Chapel is situated outside the Fort São Sebastião from which it can be reached through a gate. Built by the Portuguese in 1522, the chapel is considered to be the oldest European building in the southern hemisphere. It is also considered to be one of the finest examples of Manueline vaulted architecture in Mozambique.

Zalala beach Lodge

Top Places to Visit In Mozambique On Your Next Vacation

Chizavane

Macuti Lighthouse

Lighthouse

Xefina island

Mount Mabu

Mount Mabu is a mountain in northern Mozambique, famous for its old-growth rain forest. Mount Mabu is approximately 1,700 metres high and the forest covers about 7,000 hectares. While well known locally, the Mount Mabu forest and its extremely diverse wildlife were unknown to plant and animal scientists until 2005. It was visited after browsing Google Earth in 2005 by a team of scientitsts from the Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust and several Ornithologists, and later in 2008 by scientists from Kew Royal Botanic Gardens; by browsing Google Earth’s satellite view to look for potential unknown wildlife hotspots in Africa. It is frequently referred to as the “Google Forest”. Several new species have been discovered in the Mount Mabu forest. The isolation of the rain forest, surrounded by savannah, makes it likely that it is host to many previously undiscovered species. Named species so far include: Helixanthera schizocalyx, a tropical mistletoe in the family Loranthaceae. It is a hairless parasitic shrub that attaches to tree branches, growing up to 50 cm high. Nadzikambia baylissi, a chameleon. It is only the second species in what was previously a monotypic genus, Nadzikambia. Top Places to Visit In Mozambique On Your Next Vacation

Jardim Tunduro

The Tunduru Gardens is public park and garden in downtown Maputo, Mozambique. It was designed in 1885 by British gardener Thomas Honney. It is home to tennis courts owned by the Mozambique Tennis Federation.

Santa Carolina Island

Praia de Bazaruto

Beach

Zalala Beach

Beach

Praça da Independência

Praça da Independência is a public square and focal point of Maputo, Mozambique. It was built by the Portuguese as Praça Mouzinho de Albuquerque and was dominated by a statue of Mouzinho de Albuquerque, the former governor-general of Portuguese Mozambique. The statue of Mouzinho on horseback was inaugurated in 1940. After the independence of Mozambique in 1975 the square was renamed Praça da Independência, and the statue of Mouzinho de Albuquerque was removed to Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição and replaced by a statue of Samora Machel, the first president of Mozambique. The square is now dominated by the much larger Samora Machel Statue, which was built and dedicated in 2011. Praça da Independência is flanked to the north by the Maputo City Hall and to the east by Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Iron House, designed by Gustave Eiffel for the governor of Mozambique, is located just off the square. Tunduru Gardens, designed in 1885 by British gardener Thomas Honney, is located one block south of the square.

Praia da Costa do Sol

Beach

Museu dos CFM

Lagoa Inhampavala

DIVERSITYScuba

Dolphin Encountours Research Center

Dolphin

Centro Cultural Franco Moçambicano – CCFM

Art

Maputo Katembe Bridge

The Maputo–Katembe bridge is a suspension bridge across Maputo Bay in southern Mozambique. The bridge connects the Mozambican capital Maputo, on the northern bank, with its disjunct suburb of Katembe on the southern bank. Construction work began in 2014 and the bridge officially opened 10 November 2018. The construction work was carried out by the Chinese China Road and Bridge Corporation; a large part of the project is financed by loans from the Chinese Exim Bank. The bridge is the longest suspension bridge on the African continent, replacing the Matadi Bridge, completed in 1983 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for this distinction.

Praia da Polana

Beach

Xai Xai Eco Estate

Chimanimani National Reserve

Chimanimani National Reserve is a protected area in Manica Province of Mozambique. It is located in the Chimanimani Mountains on the border with Zimbabwe, and together with Zimbabwe’s Chimanimani National Park it forms the Chimanimani Transfrontier Park. The reserve was proclaimed in 2003, and has an area of 634 km². The reserve includes the Mozambican portion of the Chimanimani Mountains, including Monte Binga, Mozambique’s highest peak. The reserve has a larger buffer zone, which extends into lower-elevation areas to the south, east, and north, and includes the Moribane, Mpunga, Maronga, and Zomba forest reserves. The forest Moribane, Mpunga, and Maronga reserves were established in 1953. The locals preserve the cave paintings, ancient traditions and beliefs, all of which give the park a cultural identity. The Reserve can be reached across the border from Machipanda, the city of Beira from the city of Chimoio. The reserve has several road connections with the north, center and south of Mozambique, as well as with Zimbabwe.

Mapa das Artes

Art

Municipal Market

Market

Tofinho Beach

Beach

Praca dos Herois

Manyikeni

Manyikeni is a Mozambican archaeological site, around 52 km west of the coastal city of Vilanculos. The archaeological site dates from the twelfth to seventeenth century. It is believed to be part of the Great Zimbabwe tradition of architecture, distinguished by mortarless stone walls, and part of the famous Mwenu Mutapa’s Kingdom. The central stone enclosure complex is built in this tradition, and the find of a Zimbabwe-style iron gong at the site also suggests cultural ties. The site today is covered by the Cenchrus ciliaris grass, commonly found in Zimbabwe but seldom reported in Mozambique. Berger suggests that this may indicate the grass was introduced along with cattle from Zimbabwe. However this grass species is found in all countries along the East coast of Africa and so the low number of records in Mozambique may merely reflect a lack of prior collecting. The site is located 350 km from Great Zimbabwe, the capital of a large, pre-colonial empire active from at least the 11th through the 14th centuries. Barker has suggested that only the ruling elite at Manyikeni consumed beef, as cattle bones have been found only in the central part of the site.

Mount Lico

Mount Lico is an inselberg mountain in the Alto Molocue District of Zambezia Province in northern Mozambique, most notable for its old-growth rainforest and its lack of penetration by humans. Mount Lico is approximately 1,100 metres above sea level but is distinctive in having sheer rock walls of up to 700 metres above the surrounding countryside that have all but prevented human intrusion. The forest on top, within a volcanic crater, covers only about 30 hectares. In 2012 Mt Lico was “discovered”, or more correctly, identified as a place of special scientific interest, by Julian Bayliss of Oxford Brookes University, who had earlier similarly identified Mount Mabu some 70 kilometres southwest, by using Google Earth to search for significant landforms and vegetation features. In May 2018, Bayliss led a multidisciplinary expedition to scale the sheer walls of Mount Lico and begin the study of its unique habitat.

Machangulo Private Nature Reserve

Massingir Dam

Massingir Dam is a dam on the Rio dos Elefantes, Gaza Province, Mozambique. It is named after the town of Massingir, in Massingir District. The Shingwedzi River flows close to the northeastern side of the reservoir and joins the Rio dos Elefantes about 12 kilometres downstream from the dam wall.

Ilha Mogudula

Pequenos Libombos

River

Lake Urema

Lake and hippopotamus

Albufeira de Chicamba Real

Lake

Samora Machel Bridge

Samora Machel Bridge is a bridge in Mozambique across the Zambezi River. It is named after Samora Machel, the former President of Mozambique. It links Tete, the capital of Tete Province, to Moatize. The bridge also connects the countries of Zimbabwe and Malawi.

Museum of Geology

Regional rock & mineral collections

Faro de Inhaca

Cattedrale di Nostra Signora del Rosario

The Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral also called Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, is located in Beira, a town in the African country of Mozambique and is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Beira. The first stone church was laid on 25 October 1900 at the site where the first cemetery of Beira. The foundation stones of the nave and the altar were removed from the fort of Sao Caetano of Sofala. The church, built in the Gothic Revival style, was inaugurated in 1925. The church dates back to the beginning of the city, which explains its modest size. He was elevated to the cathedral since the founding of the diocese in 1940. In March 2019 the cathedral was heavily damaged by cyclone Idai.

Pomene National Reserve

Baia de Pomene

Beach

Samora Machel Statue

The Samora Machel Statue is a bronze sculpture located in the center of Praça da Independência in Maputo, Mozambique. The statue depicts Samora Machel, military, revolutionary, and the first President of Mozambique. The statue was designed and constructed in Pyongyang, North Korea by the Mansudae Overseas Projects, an arm of the Mansudae Art Studio. It stands 9 metres and weighs 4.8 tons. The statue sits on a marble slab 2.7 metres high at the head of Samora Machel Avenue, and is illuminated at night. The statue has been criticized for bearing little resemblance to Samora. The Samora Machel Statue sits in front of Maputo City Hall on the spot formerly occupied by a statue of Joaquim Augusto Mouzinho de Albuquerque, Governor-General of Portuguese Mozambique from 1896 to 1897. The statue was inaugurated on October 19, 2011, the 25th anniversary of Machel’s death in an aircraft crash on the convergence of the borders of Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa. Armando Guebuza, the President of Mozambique, led the construction of the statue and its inauguration ceremony, which was attended by numerous foreign dignitaries.

Goa Island

Beach

Museu Nacional de Arte

Modest gallery with contemporary art

Rolas Island

Top Places to Visit In Mozambique On Your Next Vacation

Ilha Sete Paus

Top Places to Visit In Mozambique On Your Next Vacation

Praia de Zavora

Beach

Museu Mafalala

Museum

Cabeça do Velho

Mountain

Machubo Beach Resort

Museu Nacional de Etnografia

Praia de Chidenguele

Beach

Paquitequete

Beach

Ilha Quisiva

Brisa Mar

Top Places to Visit In Mozambique On Your Next Vacation

Gilé National Reserve

Nature

Ilha Metundo

Top Places to Visit In Mozambique On Your Next Vacation

Carioca Inn

Top Places to Visit In Mozambique On Your Next Vacation

Kulungwana

Top Places to Visit In Mozambique On Your Next Vacation

Lagoa Uembje

Top Places to Visit In Mozambique On Your Next Vacation

Casino Polana

Top Places to Visit In Mozambique On Your Next Vacation

Armando Emilio Guebuza Bridge

Armando Emilio Guebuza Bridge is a bridge in Mozambique that crosses the Zambezi River. It connects the provinces of Sofala and Zambezia. It is named after Armando Guebuza, a former President of Mozambique.

Island Rock

Beach

Pemba Bay

Pemba Bay is a very large bay on the Indian Ocean of northeastern Mozambique.