A natural heritage to protect, from coast to islands
Along the southern coast of Mozambique lies the Bazaruto Archipelago, made up of 5 main islands under the protection of Bazaruto National Park and African Parks. The protected area was established in 1971 to safeguard the islands’ ecosystem and marine wildlife: with a boat safari you can search for dolphins, turtles and dugongs, which are at risk of extinction.
The landscape of the Bazaruto Archipelago features long stretches of white sand beaches, transparent waters and coral reefs. The islands are reached from the town of Vilankulo, located right opposite on the mainland.
A little further south of the town is also the Vilanculos Coastal Sanctuary, which protects a 300 km² area important for its biodiversity, with freshwater lakes, dunes, mangrove forests, beaches and coral reefs.
A curiosity about the two place names. The ancient settlement was called Vilankulo in honor of the local tribal chief, Ganiala Vilankulo Mukoke. But in colonial times the name was changed to Vilanculos because the Portuguese weren’t used to the letter “k”. For this reason, when Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975, the town reclaimed the original name Vilankulo, while the district remained Vilanculos.