The capital of Zamazia province, built 20km from the coast on the banks of a river. Access is extremely arduous by road and impossible without a 4x4. LAM run non-stop schedule flights from Maputo, Beira, Tete and Nampula.

This town is the administrative capital of the fertile Zambezi district and has nearly one million inhabitants. It is famous for its coconut trees which number about 12 million! The port, which is about 19 kilometres from the sea, is on the 1.5 kilometre wide Rios dos Boas Sinais, or ‘River of Good Signs’, named by Vasco da Gama when he sailed here in the late 1400s. Like the rest of Northern Mozambique the city is largely Islamic and the sounds of muezzins sound from dozens of mosques throughout the city. The main landmarks here are the District Governor’s residence which dates from 1895 and the Cathedral of Nossa Senhora do Vibramento built in 1785 - four years before the French Revolution. The town was journey’s end for David Livingstone on his trans-Africa trek from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean in 1856. Six years later he was appointed as its British Consul. Interestingly General Lettow-Vorbecht’s troops reached the outskirts of the town in their East African Campaign during World War I, marking the southern limit of their thrust. There are several hotels including Hotel Chuabo on the river front as well as surprisingly fashionable street side cafes and restaurants. The river reaches the sea at Zalala Beach which has holiday-homes and restaurants. It is an interesting place to visit with dugout canoes braving the surf, but the sea water is muddied by the estuary.