Vilankulo (or Vilanculos) is a coastal town 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 ...

, lying in the Vilanculos District of

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 (; ) 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 sporting long thin hulls, dhows are trading vessels ...

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, Santa Carolina and Bangué. Geography The group belongs to the Vilanculo ...

. 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 Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

, which serves daily flights to several regional destinations, including

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

and

Maputo Maputo () 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 population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

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 in Mozambique. It was founded in 1975, affiliated to FIFA in 1980 and to CAF in 1978. It organizes the national football league Moçambola and the national team ...

. 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

Climate

References

Gallery

File:Vilaculos beach Mozambique.jpg, Vilanculos beach Mozambique File:Vilaculos beach Mozambique 2.jpg, Scene at Vilanculos beach Mozambique File:Vilanculos Beach 1.jpg File:Vilanculos from air 4.jpg File:Vilanculos from the air 5.jpg File:Vilanculos from the air 6.jpg File:Vilanculos from the air 7.jpg File:Vilanculos from the air 8.jpg File:Vilanculos from the air.jpg File:Vilanculos from the air3.jpg File:Vilanculos from the air2.jpg File:Vilankulos airport.jpg File:Red Dunes Vilanculos2.jpg, The red dunes File:Red Dunes Vilanculos.jpg, The red dunes

External links

{{wikivoyage, Vilanculos Populated places in Inhambane Province