Located in
Mozambique :: Mozambique
Category:
Protected Areas :: Protected Area
The Quirimbas Archipelago (Quirimbas Marine National Park) is a string of more than 30 islands that stretch for one hundred kilometres. Many of these islands are uninhabited and the ones that are developed for tourism offer exclusive paradise holidays with upmarket accommodation and a variety of water sports. The Archipelago can be reached from Pemba. The islands are linked to the coast by sand bars, coral reefs, mangroves and water rich in marine life. It offers the ideal habitat for turtle, crab plovers and migratory birds. Bottle-nose and humpback dolphins and whales breed among the islands. The islands once formed part of the Arab trade route between the east and the south and when the Portuguese 'discovered' the route around the Cape to India in the late 15th century they built a fort on Ibo Island. The culture on the islands is a potpourri of influence from Africa, the Arab region, India and Europe.