Mozambique is a large, poor and largely undeveloped country in southeast Africa .
The country was engulfed in civil war for many years during which much of the infrastructure collapsed. Another hangover of the war is the million-odd landmines which lie scattered across the countryside. And much of its wildlife has been wiped out. However, many Mozambicans have put the past behind them and have started rebuilding the country.
A special designed land mine remover
For travellers, ecotourists and adventurers Mozambique remains relatively unexplored largely because many parts are difficult to access. Most travellers head for the coast (it has one of the longest in Africa - 2 470 km) and its many pristine, palm-fringed beaches, or to its many delightful tropical, coral-fringed islands such as those making up the Bazaruto Archipelago, a marine national park.
Mozambique shares borders with Tanzania to the north, Zambia and Malawi to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and South Africa and Swaziland to the southwest.
The country's geography is relatively diverse. The coastal lowland rises to a low plateau covered with savanna and open woodland. Further west and north are the mountainous highlands with dense tropical vegetation where the country adjoins Malawi in the northwest. Two of Southern Africa 's longest rivers, the Zambezi and the Limpopo , flow through the country to the Indian Ocean . Other major rivers are the Save and the Rovuma (which forms the northern border with Tanzania ). The beautiful Lake Malawi forms part of the border with Malawi . In the Chimoio Highlands on the border with Zimbabwe is the country's highest point, Mount Binga (2436 metres) .
Mozambique has 10 provinces: Cabo Delgado, Gaza , Inhambane, Manica, Maputo , Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete and Zambezia.
The National Emblem
Mozambique has a humid, tropical maritime climate with two main seasons. The dry season is from April to October and the wet season is from November to March. Temperatures in Maputo range from 13-24 degrees Celsius in July to 22-31 degrees Celsius in February.
Mean annual rainfall ranges from 1 420 mm in the northwestern highlands to around 650 mm in the southeastern lowlands.
The Gorongosa National Park is Mozambique 's best known and most accessible park, which was unfortunately a sad casualty of the civil war. However, the International Monetary Fund has assisted the government with a major rehabilitation effort. Gorongosa has great potential as a future ecotourist destination. Other border crossings are less convenient and less reliable. You can cross between Palma (at the very northeastern corner of Mozambique) and Mwambo , Tanzania . There is a ferry service across the Rovuma River at the coast allowing overlanders to cross into Tanzania . South of Palma the roads are very bad. Land mines and bandits make crossing between Mozambique and Zambia a risky option; most people go travel overland via Malawi using one of several border crossings. There are two main crossings between Mozambique and Zimbabwe : Nyamapanda on the Tete Corridor and Machipanda on the Beira-Harare Road . Warning:The country is in the path of destructive cyclones which form in the Indian Ocean in the wet summer months.
