Ilha de Mozambique

Ilha de Mozambique (Mozambique Island) is an island in the Nampula Province in Northern Mozambique with a historical heritage that's among the best in Mozambique, and indeed in all of Africa. It was the capital of Mozambique for nearly four centuries under Portuguese colonization before the move to Lourenco Marques (now Maputo), and had been used as a major base for the Arab traders long before the arrival of the Portuguese. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The tiny, roughly 1 sq km island is connected by a concrete bridge with the mainland and is said to be crowded by 16000 inhabitants, most of them living in shacks with dismal sanitary conditions.

By plane
The closest passenger airport is in Nampula, and it has flights from both other Mozambican and some other major African airports including Maputo, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.

By car
The island can easily be reached by road from Nampula. If you're driving follow the road towards Nacala, and turn off at the signpost for Ilha de Mozambique (which is in Monapo). It'll take around 2 hours and the road is good. When you get there you'll need to cross the causeway which costs about Mts 5,000.

By minibus
If you're taking a chapa (minibus) they leave from Ave de Trabhadores in Nampula near the railway station and cost Mts 300.

Get around
Ilha's is fairly tiny and you won't have any trouble walking around it - it's about a 20-minute walk from end to end, and only about 3 blocks wide. Gabriel's has bikes you can hire for the day.

See
Ilha's a mix of colonial Portuguese and old Swahili architecture. It basically divides into two halves - the old Stone Town in the north and the "Reed Town" in the south which is set down from the main streets.











Do


You can take boat trips or just laze on the beach. Swimming is, however, not advisable as the water is very dirty. If you're feeling adventurous, take a dhow over to the mainland at Chaga or Mossuril and explore along the coast there.

Buy
Some great souvenirs to purchase here literally come from the sea. On one hand there are shells and corals and objects made of them, on the other hand there are remains from the many shipwrecks from the waters around the island that have been flushed onto shore. In addition, there are also old Portuguese silver and bronze coins, from the colonial age.

Eat
There aren't that many restaurants on the island, with Reliquias and Escondidinho heading the list up in Stone Town. But you can find a number of local places serving fish and rice or xima. Establishments in Drink also serve food.



Go next

 * Goa Island — has a beautiful lighthouse built in 1870 and a small but nice beach. 25 min by boat.
 * Sena Island and St. Lawrence Island — possible to visit but not much to see.
 * Chocas-Mar — on the mainland coast, this is one of the few beach resorts in the country. Often the beach is rather deserted.