Mozambique’s Chimanimani National Park and Benguerra Island are on the list of the 100 best places in the world to visit in 2021, as selected by the American magazine ‘Time’.
Mozambique occupies two places on the list, which is compiled from nominations submitted by its international network of correspondents and contributors. Chimanimani National Park, in Manica province, and Benguerra Island, in the Bazaruto Archipelago, Inhambane province, both have their charms acknowledged.
“Chimanimani National Park is a testament to the country’s ongoing conservation efforts,” Time Magazine writes. “With a vast landscape, including Mozambique’s highest peak, Mount Binga, the park is home to rare mountain elephants and dozens of birds, reptiles, butterflies and plants unique to the area. Guided-tour groups in both Mozambique and Zimbabwe recommend Chimanimani as a top attraction, boasting walking and hiking trails untouched by cars—and the chance of glimpsing some of the hundreds of species identified by recent biodiversity studies in the area.”
Approximately 90 minutes from the city of Chimoio by car, Chimanimani National Park is a place full of biodiversity, where the past and the present mingle in beauty. A vast place, with waterfalls and incredible landscapes, it also boasts unique cave paintings, believed to summarise centuries of history of the Bantu people.
The diversity of the ecosystem and vegetation which adapts well to agriculture have allowed community development and conservation projects to flower within the Chimanimani National Park.
As for Benguerra Island, Time writes: “The second largest island of Mozambique’s Bazaruto Archipelago remains a low-key idyllic drop in the Indian Ocean—the island sits within a national marine reserve.”
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“It is about to see its tourist profile rise with the opening of the Kisawa Sanctuary, the world’s first 3D-printed resort built with sand and seawater mortar. The ultra-exclusive 12-bungalow resort is a beautiful base from which to explore Benguerra Island’s flamingo beaches and pristine coral reefs, where dugongs, manta rays and tiger sharks live, with minimal human interaction,” the report describes.
Choosing the World’s 100 Best Places 2021 is Time’s tribute to people and businesses that find ways to adapt, build and innovate in extraordinary circumstances. To compile the list, Time asked its correspondents and contributors to nominate places that offer new and exciting experiences.
By José dos Remedios
