Niassa

Characteristics of the province

Area: 122,176 sq. km
Borders: Tanzania to the north, Nampula and Zambezia to the south, Cabo Delgado the east
and Lake Niassa and Malawi to the west.
Main products: Cotton, maize, sorghum, hard woods and semi-precious stones.
Population density: 16 inhabitants / sq. km
Most represented ethnic group: Macua,Yao and Nyanja

Lichinga

Lichinga is a town of approximately 75,000 inhabitants located on the plateau of the same name. The surrounding countryside characterised by extensive pine forests.

Getting to Lichinga
The most practical way to visit Lichinga on the regular LAM flights from Maputo. There is no road link between Tanzania and Niassa Province but there is a gravel road from the coast, at Pemba, to Lichinga and Lake Niassa from Malawi via Chipode / Mandimba border.

Main places to stay
H. Chuindi, H. Vision 2000, Pousada Lichinga, Residencial Rival, Lichinga Girassol Hotel.

Mountains and countryside

Lake Niassa
A visit to the lake is obligatory if you want to have a ‘real Africa’ experience. The journey down to the edge of the lake has to be in 4x4 vehicle due to the quality of the road, thus the lake is inaccessible to many tourists and still unspoilt.
The road to the lake passes through unique and picturesque scenery.
There are three small fishing villages, Meponda (42 km from Lichinga), Metangula (138 km) and Cóbuè (190 km) where you can buy delicious fresh fish and drink refreshing coconut milk.

Flora and Fauna
The Niassa Reserve to the north of the province is famous due for its large quantity of elephants. There are also buffalos, giraffes, zebras and antelopes.

Music traditions
Music is a very important component of the cultural tradition of the people of this province. They use blown instruments made from dry and hollowed calabashes, which produce a sound similar to that of a trumpet. Groups of musicians play together with calabashes o different sizes.