Mozambique's Capital and nearby sub-tropical Island
MAPUTO, the gateway to Mozambique and her glorious islands, is a city with an intriguing mix of culture and architecture, peasant fishermen and palm-fringed beaches. A colorful, vibrant African city, Maputo today is regaining much of the allure and attraction it once enjoyed as a tourist mecca before civil war sealed the country off from the outside war.
Here, there are countless reminders of centuries of both Arab and Portuguese culture - and some remnants of the communist era! Ancient Catholic churches and mosques, fortresses and palaces, ornate Victorian mansions and superbly preserved Art Deco buildings abound in Maputo.
Pavement cafes serving mounds of succulent peri-peri prawns and Portuguese beer, coupled with a pulsating night life and tropical lifestyle, give it the air of a little Rio.
There are several world-class hotels here, and the city is connected by scheduled air flights to Johannesburg, Durban and Harare.
Some 40 km from Maputo lies the coral fringed island of Inhaca with magnificent golden beaches lapped by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. The visitor reaches this tropical paradise by boat or air transfer.
Inhaca is a relaxed, laid back island paradise, where there are no high-rise hotels with hordes of holiday-makers despoiling the beaches. This is still a real get-away island, a place for romantic walks along pristine beaches, snorkeling and diving among the coral reefs, deep sea fishing excursions, balmy nights and starry skies.
Friendly locals who rely on fishing to earn their livelihood, a minimal infrastructure and lodges which provide comfort and seclusion, make Inhaca a lovely place to while away a few days at the end of a safari to Southern Africa.
