Travel Guide Angoche

Angoche looks like the end of the world. At the mouth of the Meluli River, it was one of the earliest Arab settlements on the Mozambican coast from the 14th century onwards, then an important trading center from the end of the following century, exporting gold, ivory and slaves. Even when the slave trade was "internationally" abolished, the city continued its lucrative activities in the eyes and ears of the Europeans. But around 1860, several attacks by the Portuguese fleet put an end to it. The cessation of all important trade, added to the rise of Ilha in the north and Quelimane in the south, began an irreversible decline. Today, if only the cashew nut trade is flourishing, the city of Angoche seems to be rising from its ashes. On the one hand, an important mining project is being studied inland and, on the other hand, national efforts are being made to promote tourism: not so much for the few old buildings as for its beach, the Praia Nova, its mangrove and its archipelago, which is still relatively unknown: ilhas Primeiras e Segundas.