mz

Mozambique

República de Moçambique - Republic of Mozambique


Mozambique is located at the east African coast, right opposite Madagascar. Northern Mozambique lies within the monsoon trade winds of the Indian Ocean. It is one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world. Official language is Portuguese, the currency is Metical (MZN). It was a Portuguese colony until 1975, and still has a close relationship with Portugal. Portuguese is the official language as the inhabitants speak half a dozen different languages and so it has become a sort of lingua franca.

Since the end of the Mozambican Civil War (1977–1992) the situation has somewhat settled but there are still a lot of security issues. There are frequent outbreaks of violence, by the diverse political parties and the islamists. Tourism increased during the last years, but nevertheless the country is not easily visited. There is a lack of security, stability, infrastructure, and human rights, and there is also a lack of underground sites. Also, there are numerous health issues, the most important obviously malaria, but also numerous other diseases and lots of poisonous animals. We have listed two sites, which are both quite impressive, but there is actually no infrastructure, and visiting them is more like an expedition and less like a safari. Local guides are definitely essential, but it seems the locals are not very well organized and do not have websites.