The Bazaruto Archipelago

Where

Indian Ocean, off Vilankulo
Inhambane Province, Mozambique

Coordinates

21.7000° S
35.4500° E

The park

1,430 km², five islands
(African Parks)

Protected

National park since 25 May 1971

Managed by

ANAC with African Parks
since December 2017

Dugongs

A few hundred, by aerial survey
(African Parks)

Advisory

Mozambique Level 2

The short answer

The Bazaruto Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean off the towns of Vilankulo and Inhassoro, in Mozambique’s Inhambane Province: Bazaruto and Benguerra, the two largest, with Magaruque, Santa Carolina and Bangué. They have been protected since 25 May 1971 as the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park, which African Parks describes as Mozambique’s oldest national marine park and gives as 1,430 square kilometres, most of it sea. Since December 2017 the park has been managed by African Parks together with Mozambique’s National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC). Three of the islands are permanently inhabited, by about 5,800 people according to African Parks; Wikipedia gives about 6,500 in 2024, in seven communities.

Why it's worth knowing

The dugong is a seagrass-grazing sea mammal, and in the western Indian Ocean it is close to gone. African Parks describes Bazaruto as holding the last remaining viable population in that ocean, and says its regular aerial surveys suggest a few hundred adults and calves in and around the park; Wikipedia gives an older figure of about 120. After research coordinated by the park’s management, African Parks says, the IUCN relisted the East African dugong from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered in 2022. In 2024 the park and the Mozambican government, with James Cook University, fitted eleven dugongs with satellite transmitters, which African Parks describes as a first for Africa, to learn how they use the park and the coast beyond it.

Wikipedia’s article on the park adds that all five of the region’s sea turtle species nest here, which it calls the only known place in the western Indian Ocean where that happens, and that fishing practices and pollution, both of which destroy the seagrass the dugongs eat, are the two main reasons for their decline.

The field notes

Islands of blown sand

The islands are made of sand. ANAC describes the park’s gigantic white parabolic dunes and calls the islands probably sections of a former sandy peninsula once joined to the mainland; Wikipedia says they were formed from sand laid down by the Save River, which has since shifted its course. Inland, between the dunes, are freshwater lakes, and ANAC records Nile crocodiles living in the lakes on Bazaruto and Benguerra. Santa Carolina is the exception: a rock island about three kilometres long, with coral reefs close to its beaches, which Wikipedia notes is also known as Paradise Island.

The sea

Wikipedia’s article on the park lists six species of dolphin, humpback whales in the winter months, whale sharks from October to April, and more than 2,000 species of fish, with water clear to about 30 metres drawing divers and snorkellers. African Parks also protects rhino rays here, the guitarfishes and wedgefishes, which it describes as among the world’s most threatened marine fishes.

The people of the islands

The islanders live mostly from the sea. Wikipedia’s article on the park records that about 70 per cent of households depend on small-scale fishing, that others harvest sand oysters, grow crops and keep livestock, and that most are very poor; declining catches have brought increasing poverty and food insecurity. It credits the jobs created since African Parks took over management with improving the local economy, and African Parks describes visiting as one of the best ways to support the communities and the park.

Getting there

How to get there. Fly to Vilankulo, which African Parks says has direct flights from Johannesburg and Nelspruit and daily flights from Maputo and Johannesburg; Wikipedia calls the town the gateway to the archipelago. By road, take Mozambique’s N1 and turn off at Pambara for Vilankulo or at Vulanjane for Inhassoro. From either town, boats cross to the islands, including traditional sailing dhows, and charter flights and helicopters serve the island lodges.

When to go. African Parks says any time of year will do. It describes winter, May to August, as warm with cool mornings and evenings, and summer, October to March, as hot and humid and the cyclone season. Humpback whales pass in winter, and whale sharks are seen from October to April, according to Wikipedia.

What to arrange ahead. Your boat or flight to the islands, through your lodge or an operator in Vilankulo; and malaria prevention. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say malaria occurs throughout Mozambique and recommend preventive medicine for all travellers.

Safety. The State Department has Mozambique at Level 2, exercise increased caution, because of health, crime, civil unrest and terrorism. Its Do Not Travel areas are Cabo Delgado Province, the Niassa Special Reserve and certain northern districts of Nampula Province, all in the far north, more than 1,000 km from Bazaruto in a straight line by our measurement; Inhambane is not named. It advises avoiding all but emergency travel between sunset and sunrise, and warns that protests can block roads.

Common questions

Where is the Bazaruto Archipelago?

The Bazaruto Archipelago is a group of five islands in the Indian Ocean off Vilankulo and Inhassoro, in Inhambane Province, Mozambique: Bazaruto, Benguerra, Magaruque, Santa Carolina and Bangué. It has been a national park since 25 May 1971.

Are there dugongs at Bazaruto?

Yes. African Parks, which co-manages Bazaruto Archipelago National Park in Mozambique, describes it as home to the last viable dugong population in the western Indian Ocean and says aerial surveys suggest a few hundred adults and calves. In 2024 eleven of them were fitted with satellite tags, a first for Africa.

How many islands are in the Bazaruto Archipelago?

Bazaruto Archipelago National Park in Mozambique covers five islands, Bazaruto, Benguerra, Magaruque, Santa Carolina and Bangué, and 1,430 km² in all, according to African Parks. Three of the islands are permanently inhabited, by about 5,800 people.

How do you get to the Bazaruto Archipelago?

Fly or drive to Vilankulo in Mozambique’s Inhambane Province, which has flights from Johannesburg and Maputo, then cross to the islands by boat or traditional dhow. Charter flights and helicopters serve the island lodges. By road, the turn-off from the N1 for Vilankulo is at Pambara.

When is the best time to visit Bazaruto?

African Parks says Bazaruto in Mozambique can be visited all year. Winter, May to August, is warm with cool mornings; summer, October to March, is hot, humid and the cyclone season. Whale sharks are seen from October to April and humpback whales in winter.

Who manages Bazaruto Archipelago National Park?

Since December 2017 Bazaruto Archipelago National Park, Mozambique’s oldest national marine park, has been managed by the conservation organisation African Parks together with Mozambique’s National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC).

Is there malaria at Bazaruto?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say malaria occurs in all areas of Mozambique, including Inhambane Province, where the Bazaruto Archipelago lies, and recommend that travellers take prescription medicine to prevent it.

Is Mozambique safe to visit?

The U.S. State Department has Mozambique at Level 2, exercise increased caution (advisory dated 16 June 2025), and lists Cabo Delgado Province, the Niassa Special Reserve and northern districts of Nampula as Do Not Travel. Inhambane Province, where the Bazaruto Archipelago lies, is not named. It advises against non-emergency travel after dark.

Notes on sources. This entry draws on African Parks (africanparks.org), as indexed, for the park’s 1,430 km², its five islands and the three inhabited by about 5,800 people; the last viable dugong population in the western Indian Ocean and the aerial surveys suggesting a few hundred adults and calves; the IUCN relisting of the East African subpopulation as Critically Endangered in 2022; the satellite tagging of eleven dugongs with James Cook University in 2024, a first for Africa; the rhino rays; ANAC’s invitation of African Parks in 2017 to manage its oldest national marine park; the flights to Vilankulo from Johannesburg, Nelspruit and Maputo; the N1 turn-offs at Pambara and Vulanjane; the boats, dhows, charter flights and helicopters; and the seasons. It draws on Mozambique’s National Administration of Conservation Areas (anac.gov.mz), as indexed, for the gigantic white parabolic dunes, the islands as remnants of a former sandy peninsula, the freshwater lakes and the Nile crocodiles on Bazaruto and Benguerra; and on the CDC for malaria. Wikipedia’s articles on the Bazaruto Archipelago, Bazaruto Archipelago National Park and Vilankulo, and the references they cite, supplied the names of the islands, the proclamation on 25 May 1971, the Save River’s sand, Santa Carolina’s size, rock and reefs and its other name, the older figure of about 120 dugongs, the five nesting turtle species, the dolphins, humpbacks, whale sharks and fish, the 30 m clarity, the population of about 6,500 in 2024 and its livelihoods and poverty, fishing and pollution as the causes of the dugong’s decline, the jobs since 2017, and Vilankulo as the gateway. Wikipedia’s article on the archipelago calls it “a group of six islands” but lists five; the park’s managers count five, which the page uses. The distance from the advisory’s northern zones is our own straight-line measurement from Pemba. Lodges are not named. Travel advisory: the United States has Mozambique at Level 2, exercise increased caution (16 June 2025, the latest Mozambique item in the feed). Checked 3 October 2026 against the State Department’s advisory feed. Written and fact-checked by SockMonkey. Last reviewed 4 October 2026.