Boroma Mission

The Jesuits established a mission at Boroma on a hill above the Zambezi in the 1880s and built a church there in the 1890s that is far larger than the setting suggests, a twin-towered building of brick and stone with painted decoration inside, standing above the river with the valley spread out below. The mission also had schools and workshops. Much of the complex is now decayed and the church is used intermittently, which is part of the atmosphere.

What you actually see

• The church - a large twin-towered mission building from the 1890s.
• The painted interior - surviving decoration inside the church.
• The hilltop position - the mission standing above the Zambezi valley.
• The mission buildings - schools and workshops around the church, mostly decayed.

When to go

May to September is the cooler dry season and the road is passable. Tete province is severely hot from October to March. Morning is the coolest time on the hill.

Honest expectations

The road out from Tete is rough and takes over an hour. The church is often locked and finding a keyholder takes time. Much of the complex is derelict and unsafe.

Nearby

Tete is southeast, and the Zambezi runs below the mission.