Mozambique: Pemba Coast Map

The Pemba coastline is a place where baobabs meet beach. Thick stands of baobabs rush to the emerald blue seas and the coastline is plied by hundreds of lateen-rigged dhows, reminders of a trading and fishing tradition inspired by the Arabs nearly 800 years ago. This is the centre of the Cabo Delgado Province with its wealth of forests, fishing and farming.

Local tradition says that if all the ships in the world anchored within Pemba's 13,000 hectares of land-locked water there would still be room for more ships. Looking down from the town over rolling hills, a mix of modern buildings and wooden huts set amongst thick forests of baobab trees, the view of this beautiful blue bay is not easily forgotten.

Don't miss a visit to the market, which is nearly 2 km long and has thousands of stalls selling everything from spices to bicycle spares. Pemba being the most important centre in northern Mozambique, there are banks, patisseries, supermarkets and restaurants. Most of the visitors to Pemba fly in to the local airport, or arrive overland from Malawi. It is a cosmopolitan place frequented by a range of people from wealthy businessmen to backpackers.

The most popular destination here is the Querimbas Archipelago which consists of 27 offshore islands strung along the coast parallel to Pemba. The islands are composed of fossil coral rock and have lush vegetation and mangrove swamps. They support a wide variety of wading birds, turtles and terns. Ibo Island is the best known of the islands in the Querimbas, with opulent architecture and a dark history of slavery. Querimba Island is immediately to the south of Ibo and is a very attractive place for a longer stay.