Travel in Maputo
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Informations on Maputo: history, politics, economy, culture, Did you mean: Maputo
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Maputo is the capital city of Mozambique.
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Understand
Maputo has been the capital of Mozambique since 1907. The name of the city was Lourenço Marques until the independence of the country, in 1975.
It is the largest city of Mozambique also with the country's most important harbour. It is situated in the extreme South 90 km from the border to South Africa.
The city provides from many-star hotels (Polana, Cardoso, Holiday Inn etc) to comfortable backpackers (Base and Fatima's).
Get in
By plane
Most international flights are from/to Maputo's airport. See the the Mozambique page for more. Local airlines LAM 1 (http://www.lam.co.mz) and Air Corridor 2 (http://www.flyaircorridor.com/) operate a high number of domestic flights within Mozambique.
By train
By car
The highway from Johannesburg to Maputo is very good. From Johannesburg, take the N4 towards Nelspruit (about 400km). From Nelspruit, continue following the N4 to Komatipoort, the last town on the South African side (about 100km). Just past Komatipoort is the Komatipoort/Ressano Garcia border post. NB: current car registration papers (or good facsimile thereof) are required to get a car past the border. On the Mozambican side, just follow the N4 (now called EN4) for a further 100km or so to reach Maputo.
By bus
By boat
Get around
See
- The railway station on Praca dos Trabalhadores was designed by Gustave Eiffel (after his fall from grace in the Panama canal scandal), and bears the mark of his genius.
- The National Art Museum has a small but good collection of Mozambican art, including several large canvases by the world-renowned Malangatana.
- The Jardim Tunduru is a very pretty (albeit small) botanical garden.
- The Museum of the Revolution chronicles Mozambique's fight for indepedence from Portuguese colonialism.
Do
Learn
Work
Buy
Eat
Budget
Mid-range
Chicken Piripiri near the corner of Avda. 24 de Julho and Avda. Nyerere serves grilled chicken and also very good prawns.
Splurge
Drink
Sleep
Budget
- Fatima's place is a backpacker institution (1317 Avenida Mao Tse Tung).
- The Base backpackers' is at 545 Avenida Patrice Lumumba.
Mid-range
Splurge
The Catembe Gallery Hotel (http://safarinow.com/go/catembe/?a=10986) has 14 luxurious rooms that are individually decorated by leading Mozambican artists. It is situated about 10min by boat from the CBD. It has a bar, beach, library, pool table and swimming pool. Internet access is available. Rates start from about ?20, up to ?380, depending on type of room selected.
Contact
Stay safe
At daytime, violent crime is not a problem. However, occasional pickpocketing attempts do occur. At nighttime, it is better not to walk around alone. Regardless of the hour, be smart when walking around -- don't carry much around in the streets with you, and if you have a bag, keep it close to you. If you have a cell phone, do not flaunt it -- pickpocketers have been known to take cellphones right out of people's hands when talking on them. Local police also apparently target foreigners in the area around popular backpacker hostels. Carry a copy of your passport (not your real one) so that there is no potential problem with the police. Also, very obviously, do not carry drugs around with you at all.
Stay healthy
Malarial prophylaxis is essential in all parts of Mozambique. Do not drink the tap water. As Fatima puts it: "Your stomachs are not used to it." There is high HIV incidence. Do not have unprotected sex.