Gorongosa National Park

Gorongosa Mountain and National Park is situated northwest of Beira near the border with Zimbabwe. It comprises 1,2 million hectares of open plain, bush, swamp and waterways, spread between the Pungwe and Urema rivers.

During the 1960s this was one of the finest game reserves in Southern Africa and attracted more than 12 000 visitors a year and had more game than the Kruger National Park.

The famous camp at Casa des Leos, or the "House of Lions", was so named because a pride of lions inhabited the old buildings and could frequently be seen clambering over the framework and broken walls.

During the war much of the game was shot for food, and the rest camp at Chitengo was used as a Renamo base and subsequently bombed to bits. A few years back, the Mozambique government started restoring the park, erecting a small campsite at Chitengo and clearing mines from the roads.

In about 2006 an American group, the Carr Foundation, in partnership with the Mozambican goverment, launched a programme to rebuild, restock and redevelop the park. Now the park boasts newly-built accommodation at Chitengo Camp with a good restaurant serving local and international dishes.

Game drives are run twice daily and the park officials also lead hikes to the impressive Mount Gorongosa. The local community is also being involved in the park's redevelopment and growth.

Several species of grazers - including wildebeest, buffalo and zebra - whose populations were dramatically reduced during and following the civil war in the country, have been reintroduced and the vegetation and birdlife here have always been superb.

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