Mount Namuli is the second highest mountain in

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

and the highest in the Province of Zambezia. It is high and was measured, surveyed and described in 1886 by Henry Edward O'Neill, the British consul in Mozambique. The Namuli massif consists of a level plateau with the granite dome of Mount Namuli above. The area was historically clad in tropical rainforest and is an important

biodiversity hotspot A biodiversity hotspot is a ecoregion, biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after ...

with many

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

species of animals and plants. The lower slopes are now mainly used for the cultivation of tea and the middle slopes for other agricultural purposes, with indigenous forest now mostly restricted to the higher parts and corridors along water courses.

Geography

Mount Namuli is the highest peak in the

Zambezia Province Zambezia ( ) is the second most-populous province of Mozambique, located in the central coastal region south-west of Nampula Province and north-east of Sofala Province. It has a population of 5.11 million, according to the 2017 census. The provin ...

. At 2,420 metres it is the second highest mountain of Mozambique behind the

Monte Binga Monte Binga is the highest mountain in Mozambique and the second-highest in Zimbabwe. It is located in the Chimanimani Mountains, straddling the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique in the Chimanimani Transfrontier Park in Manica Province. Its lies ...

. The Namuli massif consists of a level plateau which rises 700 to 800 metre. The granite dome of the Namuli rises 1,600 metre above the plateau. The area above 1,200 metre measures 50 x 30 km. Mount Namuli is located 12 km north-east of Gurué and about 160 km from the

Mulanje Massif The Mulanje Massif, also known as Mount Mulanje, is a large inselberg in southern Malawi. Sapitwa Peak, the highest point on the massif at 3,002 m, is the highest point in Malawi. It lies 65 km east of Blantyre, Malawi, Blantyre, rising ...

in south-eastern

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

. The forests of Mount Namuli are an important

which means that they have a high biodiversity rate of threatened animals and plant taxa. Species like the

Namuli apalis The Namuli apalis (''Apalis lynesi'') is a small African passerine bird belonging to the genus '' Apalis'' in the family Cisticolidae. It was formerly considered as a subspecies of the bar-throated apalis. It is the only bird species endemic to ...

(''Apalis lynesi'') and the

Vincent's bush squirrel Vincent's bush squirrel (''Paraxerus vincenti'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae, named in honour of Jack Vincent. It is endemic to Mozambique. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and it is threate ...

(''Paraxerus vincenti'') are endemic to Mount Namuli. Other rare species are the

Thyolo alethe The Thyolo alethe or Cholo alethe (''Chamaetylas choloensis'') is an endangered species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The Thyolo alethe is a medium-sized chat, usually measuring 17–20 cm in length and weighing around ...

(''Alethe choloensis'') and the

dapple-throat The dapple-throat (''Arcanator orostruthus'') is a species of bird in the small African family Modulatricidae. Other common names include dappled mountain robin and dappled mountain greenbul. It is native to Mozambique and Tanzania. This is the o ...

(''Modulatrix orostruthus'') which occur elsewhere too. The lower slopes of Mount Namuli are dominated by tea plantations. The middle slopes are agrarian oriented. Indigenous forests are confined to corridors along stream courses. The nearest town is

Gurúè Gurúè (also spelt Gurué; known before independence as ''Vila Junqueiro'') is a town located in the northern part of Mozambique, near the center of the province of Zambezia. It serves as the principal town of Gurué District, and is Mozambique' ...

which is the largest tea estate of Mozambique.

History

Mount Namuli was first explored in August 1886 by Henry Edward O'Neill who was the British consul in Mozambique in 1879. It became notable in ornithological circles for the expedition by

Hubert Lynes Rear Admiral Hubert Lynes, (27 November 1874 – 10 November 1942) was a British admiral whose First World War service was notable for his direction of the Zeebrugge and Ostend raids designed to neutralise the German-held port of Bruges, which ...

and

Jack Vincent Jack Vincent (6 March 1904 – 3 July 1999) was an English ornithologist. Biography Vincent was born in London. At age 21 he moved to South Africa where he worked on two farms in the Richmond district of the Natal Province. In the 1920s he we ...

in 1931/1932. Due to the

Mozambican Civil War The Mozambican Civil War () was a civil war fought in Mozambique from 1977 to 1992 due to a combination of local strife and the polarizing effects of Cold War politics. The fighting was between Mozambique's ruling Marxist Front for the Liberat ...

and poor road access, it was not until 1998 when a South African team of ornithologists were able to explore the forests of Mount Namuli. In 2024 scientists proposed a new

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

, to be called the South East Africa Montane Archipelago (SEAMA), which would include Mount Namuli and other regional

inselberg An inselberg or monadnock ( ) is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa, a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, an ...

References

The birds of Namuli, northern Mozambique: retracing Vincent's footsteps
* New records of Ficus (Moraceae) species emphasize the conservation significance of inselbergs in Mozambiqu
PDF, online
*

: ''The Namuli Mountains, Portuguese East Africa'' In: ''The Geographical Journal'', Vol. 81, No. 4 (Apr., 1933), p. 314-327 * Timberlake, J.R., Dowsett-Lemaire, F., Bayliss, J., Alves T., Baena, S., Bento, C., Cook, K., Francisco, J., Harris, T., Smith, P. & de Sousa, C. (2009). ''Mt Namuli, Mozambique: Biodiversity and Conservation.'' Report produced under the Darwin Initiative Award 15/036. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London. 114 p

Geography of Zambezia Province, Namuli

Namuli Mount Namuli is the second highest mountain in Mozambique and the highest in the Zambezia Province, Province of Zambezia. It is high and was measured, surveyed and described in 1886 by Henry Edward O'Neill, the British consul in Mozambique. The ...

Important Bird Areas of Mozambique Inselbergs of Africa {{Mozambique-geo-stub