Mozambique
From Imakoopedia
| Flag | |
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| Quick Facts | |
| Capital | Maputo |
| Government | republic |
| Currency | metical (MZM) |
| Area | total: 801,590 sq km water: 17,500 sq km land: 784,090 sq km |
| Population | 19,607,519 (est.) |
| Language | Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects |
| Religion | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% |
| Calling Code | 258 |
| Internet TLD | .mz |
| Time Zone | UTC +2 |
Mozambique (Moçambique) is a country on the Indian Ocean coast of Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Tanzania to the north and has inland borders with Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Swaziland. Mozambique possesses a very long eastern coastline along the Indian Ocean, a fantastic drawcard for scuba divers, fishermen, sailors and beach lovers.
| Table of contents |
Regions
Cities
- Maputo - capital
- Beira - port town and capital of Sofala Province
- Nampula - capital of Nampula Province
Other destinations
- Inhambane
- Bazaruto Archipelago
- Ilha de Mozambique - a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Pemba - in Northern Mozambique, a popular holiday destination for Mozambiquans, although yet to be on the regular tourist route for Western visitors.
Understand
Almost five centuries as a Portuguese colony came to a close for Mozambique with independence in 1975. Large-scale emigration by European inhabitants, economic dependence on South Africa, a severe drought and a prolonged civil war hindered the country's development. The ruling party formally abandoned Marxism in 1989, and a new constitution the following year provided for multi-party elections and a free market economy. A UN-negotiated peace agreement with rebel forces ended the fighting in 1992. Heavy flooding in both 1999 and 2000 severely hurt the economy.
Get in
By plane
Flights from Johannesburg with SAA and LAM, also flights to Pemba (northern Mozambique) from Réunion with LAM.
By train
By train to Malawi
There is only train line in Mozambique, which connects Nampula with Cuamba (near the Malawi border). The train carries first, second and third classes and is usually packed (when I was in the country there was no second class available). I can only speak of the Nampula-Cuamba itinerary, and if you are travelling the other way you should check for information on the ground in Malawi.
From Nampula, the train leaves early - around 5am-6am, although you should arrive earlier to buy tickets from the booking office at the station. The area is packed with people travelling towards Malawi and so expect queues. Once on board the journey is long, slow but fairly efficient and will get to Cuamba mid-afternoon. From here a Shapa ride will take you to the border (Entre Lagos) as only freight trains use this bit of the line. Be warned that even for a hardened African traveller this stretch of road is very rough and you should expect it to take a fair amount of time.
Once at Entre Lagos, the border formalities are located within the station building (easy to find as the town is a typical small border town), although be warned that this place doesn't see that many people passing through (when I was there in 2003, the official hadn't seen the new computerised visa). From here it is about a 1km walk to the Malawi side of the border. BE WARNED - the Malawi border closes before the Mozambique one, although there is a guesthouse if you get trapped. The easiest way to get from here to Liwonde is by train, we managed to get a lift in the guards van of a goods train quite late in the evening (fairly common practise it seemed).
By car
By bus
By boat
Get around
Transport leaves early in Mozambique - 4 am is not unusual, particularly as you go further north. Roads are generally in poor condition, especially when compared to South Africa, although significant work is ongoing to improve these.
Talk
The official language of Mozambique is Portuguese, though many people speak English in the capital Maputo and in tourist areas. The further north you travel, the less likely you are to encounter English speakers - in the more remote areas you are equally unlikely to encounter Portuguese speakers, so picking up a few local phrases helps. On the northern coast, towards Tanzania, Swahili may be helpful.
Buy
The currency of Mozambique is the Meticais.
Eat
Drink
Sleep
Learn
Work
Stay safe
Stay healthy
Malarial prophalaxis is essential in all parts of Mozambique.
Respect
Contact
External links
- Tourism Mozambique (http://www.mozambique.mz/turismo/eindex.htm)
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