Ibo Island

Ibo was a major Indian Ocean trading port long before the Portuguese arrived, and later became the administrative centre of the Quirimbas. Today it is a small island of coral-stone buildings, some restored and many slowly returning to the vegetation, with baobabs growing through courtyards.

The star-shaped Fort of São João Baptista, built in the eighteenth century, is the island's landmark, and inside it silversmiths still work using techniques passed down through generations — filigree jewellery made in the fort's cells, sold at the door.

At low tide you can walk or take a dhow across the sandbanks to neighbouring islands. There is almost no motor traffic. Ibo runs on foot, on bicycle and on the tide.