Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
About 2km further up the beach is
Coral Lodge 15.41
( 82-902 3612;
www.corallodge1541.com
;
s/d US$595/900; )
, an upmarket spot with 10 luxury
villas that makes a lovely base for visiting Mozambique Island. There is snorkelling in the
lagoon just in front.
Further along (northwest) from Cabaceira Pequena is
Cabaceira Grande
Offline map
Google map
, with a small treasure-trove of ruins, including a well-preserved church (Nossa
Senhora dos Remédios) dating from the late 16th-century and the ruins of the mid-19th-
century governor-general's palace. You can carefully climb up the latter for superb views.
MOSSURIL
Apart from Chocas, the closest major village in the area is Mossuril, which you'll pass en
route when travelling to Chocas by road, and which hosts a lively Saturday market.
Pensão-Restaurant Sunset Boulevard
( 82-401 5416;
www.hotelsunsetboulevard.com
;
dm/d US$8/20)
is in the São João area of Mossuril, about
800m from the Mossuril Governo building, and a good half-hour walk from the main
Mossuril village transport junction. It is a restored residence with simple but surprisingly
nice rooms (given its unlikely location on the road to nowhere) and meals, and lots of in-
formation on and help with organising exploration of the surrounding area. It's part of the
Téran Foundation
(
www.teranfoundation.org
)
effort to provide local tourism training,
and is a potential chill-out spot if you're interested in seeing Mozambique well away from
any sort of established route. Volunteering opportunities are also available. Nearby is a
small patch of beach.
Getting There & Away
Boat
There's at least one dhow daily connecting Mozambique Island with Cabaceira Grande
and Mossuril, departing the island between about noon and 1pm from the beach down
from BIM bank next to Villa Sands, and departing Mossuril about 6am (Mtc25). For Sun-
set Boulevard, ask to be dropped off at 'São João', from where the
pensão
is just a five to
10 minute walk up from the beach. From Mossuril village, it's about 1½ hours on foot to
Cabaceira Grande. If you want to return the same day, you'll need to charter a boat (about
Mtc1500 for a motorised dhow). Hotels on Mozambique Island can also organise Chocas/
Cabaceira excursions. For all travel to/from the Cabaceiras, be prepared for lots of wading
and walking.
