Experience vibrant and colourful Maputo City

The coast of Mozambique was initially not much more than a way station for the Portuguese ships on their travels to and from Spice Islands, in present day Indonesia. The Portuguese had broken into the very lucrative Arab/Venetian monopoly - spices were light and easy to transport and very expensive in Europe which produced only salt as a condiment. Today, Maputo Bay forms a valuable natural harbor accessible throughout the year. Several rivers flow into the bay, the Inkomati in the north, the Espíritu Santo or the Inglés river in the west (actually formed by the Matola, Umbeluzi and Tembe rivers) and the Maputo and Umfusi rivers come from the south. Maputo takes its name from the Maputo River. However, the Portuguese did not use the bay as a way station, although it does appear on a map from 1502. In 1545, a Portuguese merchant named Lourenço Marques explored the upper reaches of the estuaries with a patent from King João III and established the ivory trade there.