National and Historical Places

 

San Sebastian Fortress: Ilha de Mozambique.

São Sebastião became a world heritage site in 1991.

It was built in the 16th century by the Portuguese to protect their trade in spices, ivory and Slaves.

A sophisticated system for collecting rainwater shows that water was very a very scarce resource on the Island.

Manyikeni and Chibuene 

Manyikeni flourished during the era Great Zimbabwe kingdom which stretched from the southern part of modern day Zimbabwe to the coast near present-day Vilanculos in southern Mozambique.

Chibuene on the coast served as an important trading post for Manyikeni and Great Zimbabwe.

Today you can see a stone wall enclosure at Manyikeni and a surrounding settlement.

Glazed Islamic tiles, beads, pieces of bottles and equipment used to process gold have been found in Chibuene.

Vumba rock paintings 

Vumba rock paintings: Mt Chinhamapere, Vumba mountains.

The paintings show six hunters with bows and arrows as well as several human and animal figures

The 8000 year old paintings are on a large rock and we’re done in a dark ochre color.

Quirimba archipelago and Ibo Island 

Quirimba archipelago and Ibo Island are full of religious, commercial, military and residential ruins that reveal the great wealth of economic activity in the area many hundreds of years ago.

Situated some 10 km from the coast and about 80 Km from Pemba, this site was mentioned in the Arab writing of the 8th century.

In 1791 João Batista Fortress was built and other two smaller fortresses were constructed in the 19th century.