Moheli

Moheli is an island in the East African island nation of Comoros.

Cities

 * – Capital of the island.
 * – Second-largest town, about 30 km from the airport on the southern coast of Moheli.
 * – Beautiful beach and base to watch green turtles.
 * – Poorest village
 * – Beautiful and friendly village.
 * – Home of the Livingston bats. The village is divided in two separated areas: Ouallah 1 and Ouallah 2.

Understand
Despite being the smallest island in the archipelago, measuring 50 km west to east and just 20 km north to south, Moheli has the Comoros' largest biodiversity, over land and under the sea. Here you can find, among numerous endemic species, the biggest populations of green turtle, imbricated turtle, Livingston bats, and during the months of June to April, humpback whales crossing the Mozambique Channel. Due to the lack of tax system in Comoros many towns have organised themselves to built bungalows and use the incomes from tourism to invest in their own village. The first communitary bungalow to be built was in Itsamia, after that the European Union invested in other towns. Nowadays communitary bungalows can be found in Joining, Miringoni, Nioumachoua, Itsamia, Oualla 1 and Oualla 2 (By November Oualla 2 was temporary out of order). Everyone working at the bungalows is volunteering, as it is a huge responsibility the volunteers are elected democratically every two years among the people of the village. The elected volunteers form a management team with a president, general secretary, accountant etc. Staying at the bungalows makes a positive impact in the local economy. The funds are invested in, among others protects, scholarship grants and improvement of the health centers.

After the 2019 cyclone, the damage is slowly being repaired. Itsamia was the only community bungalow in operation as of July 2019.

By plane
Mohéli Bandar Es Eslam Airport in Fomboni has daily flight from every of the other islands in the archipelago. One way flight costs about 50€, and tickets are sold in tourist agencies.

By boat
Travelling by boat to Grand Comore (Moroni/Chindini) or Anjouan (Mutsamudu) can be done either by speed boat or cargo boat.
 * Speed boat. From Grand Comore boats leave from Chindini, which is about an hour by shared taxi (pick it up at the Karthala stand in Moroni by 7am) from Moroni. The taxi you're in will more or less will form the nucleus of your boat across to Mwali. As a foreigner you'll need to register your passport. The cop will try to extort you and get a bribe for this fee- just play dumb and ask a local about it, they'll tell the cop off for trying to scam a tourist and let you go on your way. The boats leave around 09:00. It'll cost 10,500 francs to get across- be prepared to get wet! The journey when flat will still splash you a little and take about an hour, and in rough water you'll be soaked and it can take a few hours. Make sure you have a life vest, and try to maneuver yourself into the women/children/muzungu boat- it'll be much less crowded and less overloaded with cargo making it a lot safer. The boats will take you to a beach between Hoani and Fomboni- try to arrange transport before hand because taxis are unreliable to pick up upon arrival. If you don't happen to have a ride on arrival, find a taxi driver but make sure to bargain-a ride to Nioumachoua should be 10Euros or 5000KMF. Also, the boats don't run every day if the weather is rough so be prepared to spend an extra day in Moroni/Mwali.
 * Cargo boats. There weekly cargo boats heading to Moroni and Mutsamudu, the schedule is not fixed so you have to ask at the port when the next boat will leave. Cargo boats are slower, they take overnight to reach Moroni or Mutsamudu. Be aware that there are no beds, so passengers spend the night sleeping in a chair. Prices are the same as the speed boat, but police permit is not required. Always ask to see the vessel before buying the ticket.

Get around
Buses, confusingly locals call them taxis, run from Fomboni to most destinations on the island. The bus stop in Fomboni is at the market, buses stop running before midday. After midday you can get a shared taxi.

Importantly, taxis or buses departing from any other place than Fomboni are limited, expect to find no more than couple of taxis in each town. These usually depart everyday at 05:00 direction Fomboni, it is better to reserve a seat the day before. In addition, many teachers and students commute to Fomboni for school, so trying to get to Fomboni on Mondays is extremely difficult. In other words, planning ahead is essential and waiting for hours is expected.

By November 2018 the island was in a fuel shortage, therefore travelling around the island was complicated. Hitchhiking is possible and very safe in Moheli, though not nearly as easy as on Grand Comore due to the lack of cars. The road between Itsamia and Niamchoua was destroyed in the 2019 cyclone, so the former 15-minute drive is taking 3 hours, as you have to go all the way around the island.

See


Moheli offers the visitor an exuberant nature, you will feel the wildness all around you. Exploring the island is a beautiful experience, wherever you look you'll get astonished.



Do


For more interesting activities visit the website of the House of Eco-tourism of Moheli on: 

Eat
Due to different transportation issues supermarkets in Moheli do not offer a wide offer of products. Also finding fruit out of local season is a hard task, as most of the products you can find in markets come straight from the local fields. But do not get discouraged by the short variety and enjoy the first quality, and very natural, products that the land has to offer.

There are very few restaurants in Moheli.

Sleep
Vanilla Lodge in Niamchoua is very hospitable and has clean rooms. Some of the community bungalows are still operating (Itsamia is) but most are closed and destroyed by the 2019 cyclone.

Drink
There is a bar at Laka Lodge, the only place with alcohol on the island.

Stay safe
Although is has been reported that there are pickpockets, Moheli is still a very quiet place. You will never feel insecure in the streets or any village.

Indeed it is a wonderful destination for solo female travellers. Crime is practically nonexistent- a solo female shouldn't have any issues walking alone at night. You will stand out in the villages- less than 400 visitors a year makes foreigners a curiosity! A crowd of kids might follow you and some boys might throw pebbles at you to try to get your attention- telling them off or going to an elder member of the village will solve the problem though!

Go next

 * Anjouan
 * Grand Comore