Mozambique

Mozambique

Welcome to Mozambique

Mozambique, a scenic country with vast cultural and biological diversities, harbours one of the most popular beach destinations in the world. The clear water and the white sand will just make you forget the time! You can enjoy various ocean activities&

Featured Overland Adventures in Mozambique

Country Quick Facts

Country

Officially called the Republic of Mozambique, this country located in South Africa is surrounded by Swaziland to the southwest, Zimbabwe to the west, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, and Tanzania to the north. Mozambique is rich when it comes to natural resources. Portuguese gave the name Mozambique to the country after the Island of Mozambique, as this town was the capital for the Portugal traders. Maputo is the capital and also the largest city in the country.

Area: 801,590 km2 
Population: 30,066,648 
Capital: Maputo

Weather

Mozambique observes tropical climate with two distinct seasons; however, the weather conditions vary with altitude. The wet season starts from October until March, while the dry season is experienced in between the months of April and September. The coastal region receives heavy rainfall and goes on decreasing towards the north or south. Cyclones are a common occurrence in the wet season. The northern part has high temperatures around Pemba and Zambezi in contrast to the mountainous region, which remains cool throughout the year. The average temperatures in Maputo are 13 to 24° C in July while in February; it rises to 22 to 31° C.

People & Language

The people of Mozambique are quite friendly to the tourists. Portuguese is the only official language of the country spoken by more than half of the population. Swahili is spoken in small coastal areas near the Tanzanian border. Makonde is used in the immediate region surrounding this Swahili-group person. The Arabs, Chinese, and Indians residing in Mozambique mostly speak Portugal or Hindi.

Practicalities

Time: There is a single time zone active in the country. 

Maputo- Central Africa Time (CAT) is 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. (UTC +02:00)
Electricity: Electricity in Mozambique is supplied at 220 V and 50 Hz. Three types of plug systems are in use here: Type F with two round pins and two earth clips on the side, and, Type C with two round pins, and Type M with three round pins. If you are from the US, Canada, or South American countries, you will need a voltage converter, as the standard voltage of your appliances would be fit for the voltage range 100-127 V.

Weight & Measurement: Metric system is adopted in Mozambique for weight and measurements.

Telecommunications:  Only 4.8 % of the populace in Mozambique has access to the internet; hence the internet penetration rate is much low. Cellular phones are widely used in the country, which is still operating on 3G services. Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line is available in the country for home and business customers. 

Currency

The official currency of Mozambique is the Mozambican metical, with the currency code issued by ISO 4217 as MZN. Subunit centavo is also in practice here. One hundred centavos are equivalent to 1 metical. The coins are available in denominations 5, 10, 20, and 50 centavos and 1, 2, 5, and 10 meticals. 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 meticals are the available denominations for the banknotes in Mozambique. ATMs are located throughout the country. Visa and MasterCard or sometimes maestro or cirrus cards are accepted in the country.

Top Attractions

Food and Drink

Are you a fan of traveling? Do you love exploring the beaches and ioslands? In addition to this, are you an animal lover too? And are little confused about where to travel next? Then Indonesia is the perfect choice for you!

Culture & Lifestyle

As Mozambique has similarities to Portugal in terms of primary language Portugal and major religion Roman Catholicism, Mozambican culture also shows similarities to Portugal culture. Arts showed much development in Mozambique. Wood carving and elaborate masks of the Makonde are quite popular. You can also find the oppression against the colonial power in Mozambican art. The dance style is intricate and shows much development. The dance forms vary as per tribe, but most are realistic. Makua men costumes for dancing consist of colourful outfits and masks.

Tufo, a traditional dance of the northern women, is performed to celebrate the Islamic holidays. The music is played in religious celebrations or traditional ceremonies. Mostly hand made instruments are used for music like the one drums made from wood and animal skin. Like most of the African countries, football is the most popular sport of Mozambique. Another popular sport in the country is hockey. 

Overlanding in Mozambique

You can easily rent a car to travel around the southern part of the country. The northern part mostly covers beaches where air travel is preferable. The road conditions in the country are awful, except for some routes. Beware of the traffic rules for the country is quite famous for infringement of fines. Traffic is much dense, though the ring road has made it possible to bypass those roads.

The fuel stations are situated at long intervals, and so keep the tank full. You can pay a visit to Limpopo National park, Bilene, Maputo, Ponta do Ouro while you are travelling. The coastal destination of Ponta do Ouro requires special attention as the bumpy roads result into the tires of your car tyres being deflated. On the other hand, your driving skills in the sand are tested too. 

Urban Adventure in Mozambique

Bazaruto Archipelago National Park, Inhambane Province

BANP is declared as a protected area on the coast of the Vilanculos and Inhassoro districts. This vast park includes the large expense of ocean and six islands under its territory, of which the largest island is Bazaruto Island. The others are Benguerra, Margaruque, Santa Carolina, and Banquean Pansy Shell Island. The purpose of this park was to render protection to the dugong and marine turtle and also their habitat. Dugongs are the last living representative of the Dungongidae in the Western Indian Ocean. The protection was extended to flora and fauna of the island coral reefs and marine birds. The five high-value promoting hotels garner much tourist attraction to BANP. The white dunes might be hard to forget. You can also stroll around in the white sand.

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Maputo

It is a Roman Catholic cathedral situated in the downtown Maputo, on the Independence Square next to the Maputo City Hall. Dedicated to the Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the construction of this church spanned over eight years including inscribing by the Bishop of Mozambique, Cape Verde, and D Rafael Maria da Asuncao. Inspired by the building like Notre-Dame du Raincy in Le Raincy and Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Faitima in Lisbon, a Portugal civil engineer designed this church in a simple way with spiral staircases. The cathedral is quite spacious with a 61-metre height. You can have a chance to attend the mass gathering if you drop by at six in the evening.

Mount Namuli, Zambezia Province

Mount Namuli is the second-highest mountain in Mozambique with a height of over 2400 metres located just 12 kilometres from Gurue. The Namuli massif constitutes a levelled plateau of 700 to 800 metres height. In addition to the massif, a 1600-metre high granite dome of mount Namuli is situated over the plateau. Most of the topography consists of tropical rainforests. It is also a biodiversity hotspot housing many endemic species of plants and animals.  

Niassa Reserve, Cabo Delgado Province and Niassa Province

It is the largest protected area in the country spread over 42000 square kilometres. This reserve, linking to Tanzanian Lukwika-Lumesule Game Reserve, is a part of the Trans-Frontier Conservation Area. Niassa Reserve, part of Miombo woodlands, is one of the largest Miombo woodland preserves in the world. Nearly half of its area is clad in Miombo forests. The other part mostly comprises of open savannah and some isolated patches of woods. This reserve is home to over 190 species of trees and shrubs. Over 350 African wild dog, a globally endangered mammal lives here. Apart from the wild dog, other species such as sable antelope, elephant, Cape buffalo, impala, zebra, leopards, and wildebeest also reside here. Niassa wildebeest, Boehm's zebra, and Johnston's impala are the three endemic species in reserve. Macula Mountain, with a height of about 1450 metres, is located in the middle of the reserve.

National Museum of Art, Maputo 

The museum contains collections of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and engravings of the local artists of Mozambique since 1950. This small museum represents various essence of Mozambique like its wildlife, culture, and lifestyle. The museum also organises educational programmes, workshops, and other functions related to art. A library, as well as a document archive, is maintained in the museum to be utilised by the researchers. Even the general public is also granted access to it!

Macenta Beach

Do you want to escape the busy life of the city and enjoy a quiet atmosphere? If your answer is yes, then Macenta beach is just the right place for you to visit. Situated along the Maputo coastline, Macenta beach is one of the quietest beaches in the country. The local are welcoming, and you can enjoy surfing here amidst the high waves, which will entice you. The fresh seafood available here is too delicious to miss! You can even stay at a rented beach house here.

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