Niassa · Ilha · Gurúè
Deep north
Past Beira, the country opens. The Niassa Reserve, one of Africa's largest, almost no tourism. Ilha de Moçambique, UNESCO stone-town island. Gurúè, tea plantations and the climb of Mount Namuli.
The north is where Mozambique stops being a destination and becomes a frontier. Niassa Reserve, at 42,000 square kilometres, is one of Africa's largest protected areas, and one of the least visited; you can drive a day and see no other vehicle. Ilha de Moçambique was the country's first colonial capital, now a UNESCO World Heritage stone-and-coral town floating off the Nampula coast. Gurúè sits in the highlands of Zambézia, where Portuguese-era tea estates ring the slopes of Mount Namuli, at 2,419m the country's second-highest peak, and a quietly serious multi-day climb. This is where many of our long itineraries finish.
What's inside
Niassa Special Reserve
The Niassa Reserve is twice the size of Kruger National Park
Ilha de Moçambique
Ilha de Moçambique is Mozambique's first UNESCO World Heritage Site
Gurúè
Before the Civil War, Guruè had the largest and most productive tea plantations in the Southern Hemisphere
Mount Namuli
Mount Namuli is considered sacred by the locals and to climb it, you need to ask permission to the tribal chief, a woman.
Quirimbas Archipelago
Pemba