A Coastal City In Mozambique Is Bursting With Marine Life And Unforgettable Seafood

Africa is a stunningly beautiful continent, with an amazing and diverse range of places to explore. It is bursting with gorgeous landscapes, from the wide-open grassy veld punctuated by faded mountains in the distance to deep, lush jungles and ancient baobab trees. However, it is undeniable that large African cities rarely get as much attention as the continent's natural majesty. The cities are usually disorganized, busy, and fairly chaotic, filled with traffic and high-rise buildings. Places like Nairobi, Kinshasa, and Cairo tend to be places that tourists arrive at on the way to somewhere else, or used as a base to explore surrounding areas.

There are, however, a few exceptions to this trend. One of the most beautiful is Maputo, the delightful capital of Mozambique, undoubtedly one of the most underrated adventure destinations in Africa. It avoids the skyscraper and car-filled highways that blight many East African cities in favor of charming Mediterranean-style architecture, an exquisite seafront, and expansive avenues shaded by purple jacarandas.

Mozambique is one of Africa's must-visit countries, and Maputo sits at its southern tip, on the east coast of Africa near the border with Eswatini and South Africa. Its international airport is conveniently located just 4 miles from the historic center, and it is an easy 15-minute drive from the arrivals lounge to the seafront. Maputo International Airport is served by a number of routes across the African continent, as well as direct flights from Qatar and Lisbon, Portugal.

Maputo's picturesque setting at the mouth of the Tembe estuary, overlooking Maputo Bay and the glittering turquoise Indian Ocean, makes it easy to understand why the sea plays such an important role in this city. Maputo is one of the best places to eat seafood in the world, with incredible fresh prawns, calamari, and lobster pulled out of the bay daily and served up in mouthwatering curries and on huge grills. The city's Fish Market is one of the best places to experience the richness of Maputo's seafood cuisine. Located on Avenida Marginal along the waterfront in Bairro Triunfo, you can wander the market and explore the stalls where vendors sell an enormous variety of fish and seafood, including tiger prawns, langoustines, and queenfish that are famous for their enormous size and succulence. Buy fresh fish by weight and enjoy it cooked over an open fire at one of the rustic, casual plastic tables, or take your bounty back to your accommodation to cook yourself.

The Indian Ocean is widely celebrated as one of the best scuba diving destinations in the world, which makes Maputo a fantastic base for divers and underwater explorers. The Maputo Dive Center is a five-star PADI-certified dive shop in the heart of the city which is the best place to start, and its awesome divemasters will take you on submarine adventures to some of Mozambique's most amazing reefs, wrecks, and dive sites, including Ponta do Ouro, Ponta Mamoli, and Pemba Island. With warm water all year round and some exceptional shallow dives, as well as more complicated sites, it is perfect for divers and snorkelers of every level of experience.

Alongside its fabulous seafood and vibrant underwater experiences, Maputo is a charming, historic city with a rich cultural life that is well worth exploring in more depth. The city's most iconic landmark is, perhaps surprisingly, its main train station, a gorgeous pastel-green edifice of wrought-iron latticework with an imposing dome, designed by an associate of Alexandre Gustav Eiffel, the architect behind Paris's Eiffel Tower.

The city is also full of fascinating museums and galleries, including the Chissano Gallery, a collection of sculptures by Alberto Chissano, the National Art Museum, displaying work from the best contemporary artists in Mozambique, and the Centro Cultural Franco-Moçambicano. The Natural History Museum is also worth a visit, albeit more for the stunning architecture and design of the building rather than the exhibits inside. The city center and picturesque waterfront are definitely attractive enough to spend some time wandering around, with the clean lines and towering white spire of the Maputo Cathedral, a spectacular highlight that dominates the old town.