Gorongosa National Park

Gorongosa National Park, sprawling across the southern tail of the Great Rift Valley in central Mozambique, is the setting of one of the greatest conservation stories in Africa. Once among the continent's richest wildlife reserves, it lost almost all of its large animals in the late twentieth century. A remarkable, ongoing restoration project has brought it triumphantly back to life, its lush floodplains, savanna and forests again teeming with elephants, lions, buffalo, antelope and spectacular birdlife, making it a symbol of hope and a superb, uncrowded safari destination.

History

In 1920 the Mozambique Company, which ran central Mozambique from 1891 to 1940, set aside 1,000 square kilometres here as a hunting reserve for its administrators and guests, and in 1935 José Henriques Coimbra became its warden; in the late 1960s Armando Rosinha and the ecologist Kenneth Tinley led the first comprehensive scientific studies of the park (Wikipedia, Gorongosa National Park).

Highlights

• The floodplains - the lush plains teeming with returning wildlife.
• The elephants and lions - the recovering big-game populations.
• The birdlife - the exceptional variety of birds.
• Mount Gorongosa - the rainforest and waterfalls of the massif nearby.

When to go

May to October, the dry season, is the best time for wildlife viewing, when animals gather at water and the roads are passable; the park typically closes or limits access during the wet season from around December to March, when the floodplains are inundated and tracks become impassable.

Before you go

As a park still recovering, wildlife densities, while rising impressively, are lower than in the great established reserves of East and Southern Africa, so it suits those drawn to the inspiring conservation story and a wild, uncrowded experience rather than guaranteed big-game spectacle. It is remote and access is seasonal. For a beautiful, meaningful safari and one of Africa's most hopeful comeback stories, though, Gorongosa is special.

Nearby

The city of Beira and the central coast are within reach.

Key facts