From Wikitravel

Ilha de Mozambique is a city in Nampula Province with a historical heritage that's unmatched in the rest of Mozambique, and indeed the rest of Africa. It was the capital of Mozambique for nearly four centuries before the move to Lourenco Marques (now Maputo), and had been used as a major base for the arab traders long before the arrival of the portuguese.

Contents 1 Get in 2 Get around 3 See 4 Do 5 Buy 6 Eat 7 Drink 8 Sleep 9 Get out

Get in

Ilha can easily be reached by road from Nampula. If you're driving follow the road towards Nacala, and turn off at the signpost for Ilha de Mozambique (which is in Monapo). It'll take around 2 hours and the road is good. When you get there you'll need to cross the causeway - this costs about 5,000 meticais. If you're taking a chapa then they leave from Av de Trabhadores in Nampula just along from the railway station. The cost is 80,000 meticais.

Get around

Ilha's small and you won't have any trouble walking around it. Gabriel's has bikes you can hire for the day if you want.

See

Everywhere. Ilha's a magical mix of old portuguese and old muslim architecture. It basically divides into two halves - the old stone town in the north and the "reed town" in the south. However the reed town here is set down from the main streets. The museum is in the old Palacio Govierno, a big red building up in stone town. In the same building is a tourist information office that sells really good street maps and has all sorts of other information about the various restaurants and pensaos on the island. It's well worth heading here as soon as you arrive. Also well worth a visit is the fort at the northern tip of the island, which contains the Church of Nossa Senhora Baluarte, almost certainly the oldest surviving European building in the southern hemisphere, dating back to 1522.

Do

There's a dive centre at the northern end of the island just down from the fort. You can take boat trips, visit the museums, or just laze on the beach. If you're feeling adventurous take a dhow over to the mainland at Chaga or Mossuril and explore along the coast there.

Buy

Eat

There aren't that many restaurants on the island, with Requilias and Escondidino heading the list. But you can find a number of local places serving fish and rice or chima.

Drink

Sleep

Get out

The same way you came in. Chapas leave from the island side of the causeway.

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