The Quirimbas Archipelago

Strung down Mozambique's far northern coast, the Quirimbas scatter coral islands between mangrove channels and open Indian Ocean - a chain where history and beach share the billing. Ibo Island is the anchor: a Portuguese-and-Swahili trading town of colonnaded ruins, a star fort where silversmiths work filigree in the old garrison rooms, and mango-shaded streets that peaked two centuries ago and kept the architecture to prove it. Around Ibo, sandbanks rise from turquoise on the tides for castaway picnics, dhows carry travellers island to island, and the diving drops off coral walls that see more fish than people.

Highlights

• Ibo's fort silversmiths - filigree worked in the star fort's rooms.
• The colonnaded ruins - the trading town's grand, crumbling streets.
• Sandbank picnics - tide-borne islands of bare white sand.
• Dhow passages - sailing the channels between the isles.

When to go

May to November is dry season with the gentlest seas for island transfers; August and September are ideal. Cyclone season (roughly January to March) can disrupt the north seriously - plan around it.

What to expect

The Quirimbas are remote and priced accordingly - transfers by plane or long boat rides are part of every itinerary, and spontaneity is expensive here. Ibo's accommodation is characterful rather than plush; the outer-island lodges are the luxury tier. Lodges advise honestly on the practicalities.

Nearby

Pemba's bay on the mainland and the marine park's southern islands.