Vilankulo (or Vilanculos) is a coastal town in

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, lying in the

Vilanculos District Vilankulo District or Vilanculos District is a district of Inhambane Province in south-east Mozambique. Its principal town is Vilankulo. The district is located at the east of the province, and borders with Inhassoro District in the north and Massi ...

Inhambane Province Inhambane is a province of Mozambique located on the coast in the southern part of the country. It has an area of 68,615 km2 and a population of 1,488,676 (2017 census). The provincial capital is also called Inhambane. The climate is trop ...

. Vilankulo is named after local tribal chief Gamela Vilankulo Mukoke, and some of the "bairros" (suburbs) are named after his sons. Known as ''Vilanculos'' during colonial times, the name was changed to ''Vilankulo'' at independence. Today the district is called ''Vilanculos'' and the town ''Vilankulo''. Vilankulo has been growing extensively over the last decade, and has been the recipient of considerable inward investment into its tourism infrastructure. The town of Vilankulo is the gateway to the archipelago.

Dhow Dhow ( ar, داو, translit=dāwa; mr, script=Latn, dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically spor ...

s and helicopters travel between the town and the

Bazaruto Archipelago The Bazaruto Archipelago is a group of six islands in Mozambique, near the mainland city of Vilankulo. It comprises the islands of Bazaruto, Benguerra, Magaruque, Banque, Santa Carolina (also known as Paradise Island) and Shell. Nyati Island i ...

. The town itself is only about 5 km long. The airport is based on the outside of the town with flights arriving and departing on a daily basis. It is home to a new international

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

, which serves daily flights to several regional destinations, including

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

and

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

Sports

The local football club is called Vilankulo F.C. (VFC). football club official website This is the first official club from Vilankulo that is recognized by the

Mozambican Football Federation The Mozambican Football Federation (Portuguese: ') is the governing body of Football (soccer), football in Mozambique. It was founded in 1975, affiliated to FIFA in 1980 and to Confederation of African Football, CAF in 1978. It organizes the natio ...

. In November 2009 Vilankulo FC was promoted to the

Moçambola Moçambola (or Campeonato Moçambicano de Futebol, Portuguese for Mozambican Football Championship) is the top division of Mozambican football. It is organized by the Liga Moçambicana de Futebol. History In 1976, shortly after the country's ...

. Vilankulo is the gateway to the Bazaruto Archipelago, ocean safaris and Padi dive and boat charter centre.

Demographics

References

Gallery

File:Vilaculos beach Mozambique.jpg, Vilanculos beach Mozambique. File:Vilaculos beach Mozambique 2.jpg, Scene at Vilanculos beach Mozambique

External links

{{wikivoyage, Vilanculos Populated places in Inhambane Province