Lichinga is the capital city of Niassa Province of

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 ...

. It lies on the Lichinga Plateau at an altitude of , east of Lake Niassa (Lake Malawi). The town was founded as Vila Cabral as a farming and military settlement. It is served by

Lichinga Airport Lichinga Airport is an airport in Lichinga, Mozambique that is served by Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique the national flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally regis ...

. The province borders

Ruvuma Region Ruvuma Region (''Mkoa wa Ruvuma'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The regional capital is the municipality of Songea. According to the 2012 national census, the region had a population of 1,376,891, which was lower th ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

History

Early History

The region that is Niassa province is the ancestral homeland of the Yao and Makua.

Portuguese rule

Founded by the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

colonial administration in 1931 as Vila Cabral,www.niassatourism.com
Retrieved on June 14, 2008 the town was designed to become a fast growth urban centre, its streets and avenues paying attention to a projected future growth. Vila Cabral was upgraded to city status in 1962. In the early 1960s its population was 27,000 inhabitants; by 1970 it had 36,715. The city developed as an agriculture and colonial service centre until the independence of Mozambique from Portugal in 1975. In addition, the town's economy included

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

-based activities and was surrounded by a

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

tree plantation A tree plantation, forest plantation, plantation forest, timber plantation or tree farm is a forest planted for high volume production of wood, usually by planting one type of tree as a monoculture forest. The term ''tree farm'' also is used to ...

, of which most has been felled in recent years.

After independence from Portugal

After independence the new government renamed the city Lichinga. The effects of 17 years of

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

(1975-1992) spread famine and disease in Mozambique resulting in many deaths and refugees in the region around Lichinga.

Climate

Owing to its high altitude location the town experiences a moderate

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(''Cwb'', according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

), with cool weather in the dry season (May to September) and average temperatures of in July. Summertime is October to April with the hottest weather in November: average temperature . This is also the season of heavy rain especially December to March. The annual rainfall is .

Demographics

There are a minimum estimated 450,000

Yao people The Yao people (its majority branch is also known as Mien; ; vi, người Dao) is a government classification for various minorities in China and Vietnam. They are one of the 55 officially recognised ethnic minorities in China and reside in t ...

living in Mozambique. They largely occupy the eastern and northern part of the Niassa province and form about 40% of the population of Lichinga.

Transport

A railway branch line from the

port of Nacala The Port of Nacala, also called the Nacala port complex, is a Mozambican port located in the cities of Nacala and Nacala-a-Velha. Is the deepest port in Southern Africa. The natural deep harbour serves landlocked Malawi with a railway. The in ...

terminates in this town, it has been renovated and receives services 3 times per week. Transport into and out of the city is either by private car or the public ''chapa'', or minibus system. Air service is provided by Lichinga Airport with flights to Nampula and Maputo through LAM Mozambique Airlines or Ethiopian Airlines.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Niassa Province Provincial capitals in Mozambique Populated places established in 1931 Lichinga District