Quilalea Island, Mozambique
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Located in the southern portion of the Quirimbas Archipelago, Quilálea Island
is a unique island marine sanctuary.
This Indian Ocean island offers the ultimate in seclusion and
privacy, with the only residents being the hotel guests and staff. This
haven has been rediscovered, and offers its guests the opportunity for
complete relaxation, tranquility and self-discovery.
Unlike the rest of the archipelago, Quilálea is malaria-free. All the water
on the island is provided via a de-salination plant. Therefore, instead of a
breeding ground for mosquitoes, it is a nursing ground for hawk beak turtles and
humpback whales.
Accommodations
Opening in 2002, the resort accommodates 18 guests in 9 luxury villas.
Each villa is constructed with indigenous materials and handcrafted timber. Each
villa has its own private veranda with panoramic sea views.
Each large villa comes complete with an antique stylized shower, vanity and
fittings. Natural rock walls, makuti thatch, and colonial ceiling fans keep you
cool by day. The island-style furniture is crafted from indigenous teak and
mahogany by local carpenters in the Creole Muani style. Every villa has the
pleasure of overlooking the sparkling Indian Ocean.
The restaurant and lounge is no more than a two minute walk from the most
distant villa. Set on a peninsula at the north end of the island, the restaurant
offers beautiful ocean views to both the west and the east. Indulge in the
flavours and spices of Mozambican cuisine influenced by Portugal and Goa,
prepared by their gourmet chef.
Accommodation Amenities
- A king-size bed draped in a romantic net completes the African/Arabian
luxury
- Bath robes
- Desalinated water
- Hairdryer
- A range of vanilla scented guest amenities
- Wardrobe and hangers
- A kikoi-wrap for use while on the island
- Mini-bar
- Tea and coffee
- Wake-up service
- Complimentary Port
- Complimentary bottled water
- Butlers trays
- Tinder box bolted into the wall as a safe with lock and keys
- Umbrella and picnic utility basket in wardrobe for use on the island
- Enormous windows with wooden shutters for the sea view and the sea-breeze
- Air conditioning
- Complimentary Laundry Service
Island Activities
On Quilálea you can do as much or as little as you like. Spend your
days simply soaking up the sun by the swimming pool or on the pristine, white
beaches or choose from their many adventure activities. Diving, snorkelling, fly
fishing, surf casting, sport fishing, canoeing, island exploration, swimming,
historical tours, sailing trips and bird watching are all available on the
island.
The island also has its own marine pavilion, which is a fully equipped
fishing and PADI dive centre.Sport fishing and deep-sea angling are offered
outside the sanctuary where game fish are plentiful.
Sample Activities
Fishing: Big game fishing is conducted from the 30ft Bertram’s Express.
Expect to catch Bonito, Barracuda, Yellow-fin Tuna, Trevally, Wahoo, Dorado and
other game fish. Billfish such as Marlin and Sailfish are seasonal and are
tagged and released whenever possible.
Sailing: Quilálea has a 38 foot charter yacht at the island available for use
by guests. Kiraku is based in Pemba but may be used for client’s over-nighting
at Quilálea when the lodge is full.
Massages: Karma Salaama, massage. Described as ‘the best massage bed in the
world’, the shelter is built into the natural rock and above the beach with high
tide water lapping one to relaxation. The Mozambican massage is an essential
ingredient of the Quilálea experience.
Diving
Guided dives ranging from easy shallow reef dives for novices, to more
challenging wall dives for those experienced divers are available. Sites are
accessible both from shore and by boat.
Around Quilálea the marine life is extraordinary. Expect to see green turtles
and hawksbills. In addition, 100kg groupers, batfish, barracudas, dolphins and
white tip reef sharks also visit the area.
In addition to the marine life, the area offers peaceful and secluded diving.
Since there are only 18 guests on the island at any one time, the diving remains
a private experience, often consisting of the PADI instructor and one or two
guests.
A final reason to dive at Quilálea is that it's something that few have ever
done. It is considered by most divers to be pioneer country, making this the
perfect place for the adventurous diver, to be the first to explore a virgin
site.
Sample Dive Sites
The Cabeças (The Heads): Just a couple of hundred metres off the main
beach of Quilálea, this site consists of massive freestanding coral heads rising
up out of the sandy ocean floor, and bustling with life
Casino Royal: A resident school of hundreds of enormous circular-shaped
batfish look like massive silver coins enveloping you in a giant slot machine.
Welcome to Casino Royal, where diving dreams come true, almost on a daily basis
Napoleon Channel: Between Quilálea & Sencar Islands, the coral heads provide
shelter to giant Napoleon Wrasse and are often visited by humpback dolphins.
Conservation
The Quilálea Sanctuary is considered by the WWF to be of worldwide
importance for conservation. In September 2002, the government declared the
official opening of the National Park with a 500,000 hectare area around
Quilálea.
Within the sanctuary itself, no fishing of any kind is allowed, and in the
National Park, there is no commercial fishing. Quilálea's buildings are built
from local rocks. Seawater was used in a traditional cement mix, so the fragile
island ecology and its limited stocks of fresh water were preserved.
The "island villas" are roofed with traditional palm thatch (makuti), ideal
for cool and unobtrusive comfort. Consequently, for the visitor, Quilálea
conservation efforts have produced some of the finest diving, fishing and
birding available in the world today.
Getting There
On arrival at Pemba, Quilálea representatives meet visitors and a
porter service is provided. Quilálea makes use of a Helicopter/Plane to transfer
their clients from Pemba Airport to the island.
Rate: US$ 140.00 per person one way - US$ 280.00 per person return.
Complimentary air transfers for a 7 night stay or longer at Quilálea on full
international rates.
Price: $2625 USD per week.
Size: 86 Acres
Location: 55 kilometres north of Pemba City, Mozambique
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