Moheli
Moheli is an island in the East African island nation of Comoros.
Cities
- 🌍 Fomboni
Map of Mohéli.
- 🌍 Nioumachoua – Second-largest town, about 30km from the airport on the southern coast of Moheli.
- 🌍 Itsamia – Beautiful beach and base to watch green turtles.
- 🌍 Hamavouna – Poorest village
- 🌍 Hoani – Beautiful and friendly village.
- 🌍
Ouallah
Understand
Despite being the smallest island in the archipelago, measuring 50 km west to east and just 20 km north to south, Moheli has the Comoros' largest biodiversity, over land and under the sea. Here you can find, among numerous endemic species, the biggest populations of green turtle, imbricated turtle, Livingston bats, and during the months of June to April, humpback whales crossing the Mozambique Channel. Due to the lack of tax system in Comores many towns have organised themselves to built bungalows and use the incomes from tourism to invest in their own village. The first communitary bungalow to be built was in Itsamia, after that the European Union invested in other towns. Nowadays communitary bungalows can be found in Joining, Miringoni, Nioumachoua, Itsamia, Oualla 1 and Oualla 2 (By November Oualla 2 was temporary out of order). Everyone working at the bungalows is volunteering, as it is a huge responsibility the volunteers are elected democratically very two years among the people of the village. The elected volunteers form a management team with a president, general secretary, accountant etc. Staying at the bungalows makes a positive impact in the local economy. The funds are invested in, among others protects, scholarship grants and improvement of the health centers.
Get in
By plane
Mohéli Bandar Es Eslam Airport in Fomboni has daily flight from every of the other islands in the archipelago. One way flight costs about 50€, and tickets are sold in tourist agencies.
By boat
Travelling by boat to Grand Comore (Moroni/Chindini) or Anjouan (Mutsamudu) can be done either by speed boat or cargo boat.
- Speed boat. Boats leave from the beach near the airport. For security reasons turist are often banned from boarding in speed boats, in this case you must pay a police permit that allows you to get into it, it costs 10.000K to Chindini and 10.000K to Mutsamudu. Rides to Chindini costs 10000 and last less than an hour, to Mutsamudu costs 10.000K and takes less than couple of hours. There is no speed boat to Moroni. In any case, always ask to see the boat and a lifevest.
- Cargo boats. There weekly cargo boats heading to Moroni and Mutsamudu, the schedule is not fixed so you have to ask at the port when the next boat will leave. Cargo boats are slower, they take overnight to reach Moroni or Mutsamudu. Be aware that there are no beds, so passengers spend the night sleeping in a chair. Prices are the same as the speed boat, but police permit is not required. Always ask to see the vessel before buying the ticket.
Get around
Buses, confusingly locals call them taxis, run from Fomboni to most destinations on the island. The bus stop in Fomboni is at the market, buses stop running before midday. After midday you can get a shared taxi.
Importantly, taxis or buses departing from any other place than Fomboni are limitated, expect to find no more than couple of taxis in each town. These usually depart everyday at 5am direction Fomboni, it is better to reserve a seat the day before. In addition, many teachers and students commute to Fomboni for school, so trying to get to Fomboni on Mondays is extremely difficult. In other words, planning ahead is essential and waiting for hours is expected.
By November 2018 the island was in a fuel shortage, therefore travelling around the island was complicated. Hitchhiking is possible and very safe in Moheli, though not nearly as easy as on Grand Comore due to the lack of cars.
See
Moheli offers the visitor an exuberant nature, you will feel the wildness all around you. Exploring the island is a beautiful experience, wherever you look you'll get astonished.
- Parc Marin de Mohéli. Particularly focus on the protection of sea turtles, the natural park of Moheli covers mangroves and the islots and beaches in Nioumachoua region. The park is a tropical paradise home of many endemic species as the Livingston bats, and protected species like the dugong, green turtle, imbricated turtle, among others.
- Ylang Ylang plantations and distilleries. All around the island you will feel the sweet smell from the Ylang Ylang, plan a visit to the fields and the distilleries to know a bit about local production and economy. Plus, ask your guide to explain also about other local plants. You won't regret it.
- Beaches. In Moheli you will find the most beautiful beaches in the country, the nature is just superb everywhere. The more popular beaches are Nioumachoua and Itsamia.
Do
- Snorkeling. Anywhere in Moheli is superb, though coral bleaching and erosion due to slash-and-burn agriculture has killed a lot of coral. The sea between Baobab and Maya, one of the islets, has beautiful coral reefs.
- Diving. Diving in Moheli is an unforgettable experience, the richness of the natural park has no competitor. The only certified diving school in the island is in Nioumachoua, in Laka lodge.
- Turtle watching. Turtles come to Moheli to put their eggs all year around. In Itsamia the local association can arrange a night tour, always follow the guide instructions.
- Livingston bat watching. This endemic huge bat an be found in Hualla 1. It takes 1h walk mountain up from Oualla 1. The local association will provide you a guide, guides are necessary to find the bats.
- Humpback whales watching. From June to November this fantastic whales cross Mozambique channel heading south to cooler waters. Don't miss it.
- Kayaking. Take the chance to explore the virgin beaches of Moheli natural park on your own.
- Camping in Moheli Natural Park islots. From Nioumachoua ask a fisherman to cross you by boat to any of the islots. Spend the night surrounded by the most untouched nature.
For more interesting activities visit the the website of the House of Eco-tourism of Moheli on:
Eat
Due to different transportation issues supermarkets in Moheli do not offer a wide offer of products. Also finding fruit out of local season is a hard task, as most of the products you can find in markets come straight from the local fields. But do not get discouraged by the short variety and enjoy the first quality,and very natural, products that the land has to offer.
There are very few restaurants in Moheli.
Drink
Stay safe
Although is has been reported that the number of pickpockets has increased in the last years, Moheli is still a very quiet place. You will never feel insecure in the streets or any village. Indeed it is a wonderful destination for solo female travellers.