Northern Mozambique
The Quirimbas National Park contains most of the southern Quirimbas islands (including Ibo, Medjumbe and Matemo) along with a large tract of coastal…
Must-see attractions in Northern Mozambique
Northern Mozambique
This imposing terracotta edifice – the former governor’s residence and now a museum – dates from 1610. The interior hosts the recently refurbished Museu…
Northern Mozambique
The island’s northern end is dominated by the massive Fort of São Sebastião – the oldest complete fort still standing in sub-Saharan Africa and, arguably,…
Pemba
Pemba is all about Wimbi Beach, located 4km east of the downtown area. The attractive arc of sand is backed by a varied but never oppressive collection of…
Northern Mozambique
This tiny island (known locally as Watólofu) is about 5km east of Mozambique Island. It has a lighthouse that was built during the 1870s, and is today run…
Northern Mozambique
At the island’s northern end is the star-shaped Fort of São João Baptista, built in 1791 and designed to accommodate up to 300 people. When Ibo was linked…
Northern Mozambique
About 160km northeast of Lichinga on the Tanzanian border is the Niassa Reserve, a vast tract of wilderness with the largest wildlife populations in…
Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte
Northern Mozambique
In the shadow of the São Sebastião fort on the island’s northern tip is the Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte, built in 1522 and considered to be the…
Pemba
If you only visit one of Pemba's bairros (townships), make sure it's Paquitequete, located beside the bay downhill from the centre. Dominated by its…
Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Remedios
Northern Mozambique
This isolated church, tucked behind the mangroves close to the shore, retains a rare beauty enhanced by both its age and its setting. Built on the orders…
Northern Mozambique
About 2km south of Goa Island is Sena Island. It takes its name from its location along the old sea route aiming towards the trading centre of Sena, on…
Northern Mozambique
There's no mistaking how the house of shells (sometimes called the Cowrie House) got its name. The whole facade is covered in them and they make a unique…
Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário
Northern Mozambique
Ibo might be 99% Muslim, but its most striking religious building is this whitewashed, weather-worn Catholic church that anchors the main square, a legacy…
Cathedral of Nossa Senhora de Fátima
Northern Mozambique
Easily Nampula's most handsome and attention-drawing sight, the creamy white city cathedral dates from the late colonial period: the Portuguese finished…
Northern Mozambique
Looking like a cross between Shakespeare and Cervantes, this statue of Portuguese poet Luís de Camões stands sentinel over a small triangular park by the…
Northern Mozambique
With a distinctive white facade, this church is best viewed while sitting at a table in the Café-Bar Áncora d’Ouro opposite. The original church was…
Northern Mozambique
This museum makes a gallant effort to showcase the life and culture of Mozambique's complicated tribes and ethnic groups, although the end product is a…
Northern Mozambique
Second only to the Fort of São Sebastião in size and grandiosity, this imposing neoclassical hospital was built by the Portuguese in 1877. For a time it…
Northern Mozambique
Containing religious ornaments, paintings and carvings, this museum is housed in the former hospital of the Holy House of Mercy, a religious guild that…
Centro de Local Historico de Mueda
Northern Mozambique
Looking more like a dusty antique shop than a museum, this tiny place nonetheless makes a noble effort to explain Mueda's rich Makonde heritage and honour…
Northern Mozambique
Of the three forts on Ibo, the Fort of São José near the boat dock is the oldest, dating from 1760. It ceased to have any military use once the larger…
Northern Mozambique
Just off the southern tip of Mozambique Island is this tiny island, which is completely covered by an eponymous fort dating from 1695. You can walk across…
Palacio de Verão do Governador
Northern Mozambique
The erstwhile summer palace of the Portuguese governor sits in eerie silence yards from a deserted beach. Built in 1765, it's now a rapidly disintegrating…
Northern Mozambique
The great Portuguese poet Luís de Camões resided briefly on Mozambique Island in the late 1560s, allegedly in this house. Although not open to the public,…
Northern Mozambique
A big surprise in Cóbuè is the settlement's oversized Catholic church. A victim of the civil war, it was a derelict ruin for over 20 years but has been…
Northern Mozambique
At the southern end of the island, overlooking Makuti Town and the fishing port, is the large (and no longer used) Church of Santo António. Nearby is a…
Northern Mozambique
For a authentic look at Makuti Town, the African settlement that occupies the southern half of Mozambique Island, come to the heaving fish market in front…
Northern Mozambique
This handsome neoclassical edifice dates from 1633, when it was founded by the Capuchins. The neoclassicism is the result of a early-19th-century refurb.
Pemba
At the Paquitequete neighbourhood’s northern edge is a small fish market – it's a good place to drink in a bit of the local Mozambican spirit.
Northern Mozambique
Mozambique Island is 90% Muslim, a fact enshrined in this impressive green mosque that stands beside the busy fish market in Makuti Town.
Pemba
When you get to the end of Avenida Eduardo Mondlane, stop and take in the view of the world's third-largest natural harbour.
Pemba
Up on the hill behind the governor’s mansion is a large cemetery, with fragrant frangipani trees shading the Christian and Muslim graves. Close to the sea…
Northern Mozambique
Incredible diversity exists on tiny Mozambique Island, a fact reflected in this Hindu temple located next to the main market a stone's throw from a mosque…
Provincial Government Buildings
Northern Mozambique
The government offices overlook the main square, Praça do Liberados, with its statue of Samora Machel and murals depicting the recent history of…
Northern Mozambique
The 'cathedral' is about the same size as a village church anywhere else and is usually locked unless there's a service.
Northern Mozambique
This mosque, right behind the cathedral, highlights Mozambique's religious diversity.
Northern Mozambique
Lichinga's tiny mosque faces the equally diminutive cathedral across the main park.
Northern Mozambique
One of Lichinga's more attractive buildings dates from the late colonial era.
