Overview

Binga Camp is due to open in April or May 2010. Please check our News section or contact us directly for the latest update.

Bing Camp sits at the meeting of two rivers, the Nhamadze and Musappa Grande, in the foothills of Mt Binga, one of Manica Province’s most important attractions and the highest peak in the country. This must surely be one of the most beautiful places in Mozambique, a stunning landscape of open forest rolling hills and rugged peaks. Whether you want to climb Binga or wander along the river bank, perhaps enjoying a swim in one of the cool shady pools in the river, Binga Camp makes a perfect getaway.

Reached by Rope Bridge across the Rio Musappa, Binga Camp is a tented camp with five fixed tents as well as prepared campsites. A cozy dining area and well-equipped kitchen support comfortable self-catering, though our staff can prepare food too, especially at the end of a long day’s hike. Binga Camp is due to open in April 2010 though the community is ready now to receive visitors and provide guides.

As with Ndzou Camp, Binga Camp is a joint venture with the community. In this case, the community association will receive 15% of all fees paid by visitors. Working with the people of Nhabawa community, Eco-MICAIA is making a two-phase investment starting with Binga Camp. In the second phase we plan an activity centre with kayaking, climbing, orienteering, horse riding and so on, aiming particularly at young people and families. Watch this space!

Above Mussapa River, the beautiful setting for Binga Camp

By the time you’ve driven from the Sussundenga-Rotanda road you will already be awed by the majesty of the Chimanimani range dominating the skyline.

You will also almost certainly be relishing the sense of being truly ‘off the beaten track’. Part of the attraction of the Chimanimani Mountains is that the highlands are a true wilderness. Apart from the occasional local taking a ‘short cut’ across the mountains, you may see no one. Even if the Camp is full, once up on the hills, with hundreds of square kilometres in which to wander, you can be truly in the wild.

Camping

At Binga Camp we try to reflect this ‘frontier’ spirit with a camp that is at once comfortable and welcoming, with a communal heart, and also fully in keeping with its location.

Binga Camp has 8 prepared campsites each with natural screening for privacy. Each camp site has a picnic table and benches and a work surface, though the Camp is set up for communal cooking (see below). Each tent has easy access to a toilet and shower block. The shower units will provide warm/hot water from a passive solar system. For people wishing to camp who do not have their own equipment, Binga Camp will have tents and other camping equipment for hire.

Fixed tents

Binga Camp will have five fixed ‘safari’ tents offering a superior standard of accommodation. Each tent has twin beds that fit together to make a double, a small writing desk, and a covered veranda. Occupying the best riverside sites at Binga Camp, with views to the mountains, these fixed tents will feel like luxury at a very affordable price.

Above Planning the hike into the mountains

Above In the Chimanimani Highlands

Binga Camp is designed as a comfortable base camp from which to explore the mountains.

In 2011 we hope to open the Binga Adventure Centre, offering experiences and training in a wide range of outdoor pursuits, but for now our ‘facilities’ are the inspiring natural surroundings of the Chimanimani Mountains.

Caya (or some other name)

The nights can be cold in the mountains, especially in July and August, so our dining area is being built around a fireplace. The kitchen will have all the essentials for self-catering, and a fridge is available to store fresh food. The basic ingredients – seasoning, oil, sugar – is always available, and we’re working with the community to help them produce more vegetables and to have eggs and chicken available to sell to visitors. Beer and soft drinks as well as wine will be available.

Catering

After a day or more on the hills, arriving back tired and ready for a cold drink, cooking is probably the last thing you want to face. Why not plan your meal with our staff team? Keep it simple – grilled chicken, vegetable stew, tuna pasta bake, salads etc – and we’ll be able to prepare and cook your dinner.

If you’re coming as a group and you would prefer to have all your evening meals prepared, do let us know in advance so we can discuss menus and make sure that we buy in the food we need.

Bikes

Mountain bikes are available to hire, with or without a guide. Take the rocky road up to Chikukwa to visit the stunning water fall and the rock paintings, or go back towards the Mussapa crossing and visit Mahate forest ranger camp with its fabulous gorge.

Binga Camp is situated in the heart of some of the most beautiful landscape in Mozambique. While Mt Binga might be the main attraction, there is so much more to see and do in the area.

Walks

Trekking in the mountains could keep you busy for weeks and if you have particular interests in birds or botany then you’re in for a treat. And don’t be put off if you have young children. The riverside walks and cool pools are accessible to all. In the area we have Chikukwa with its rock paintings and waterfall, and just 20km back down the road there is Mahate, a beautiful gorge.

Mt Binga and the mountains

Binga is the highest mountain in Mozambique but it is accessible to any reasonably fit person. The local community has extensive knowledge of the mountain and the route to the summit, and guides are available.

Surrounding mountains

In addition to Binga, the area has many other peaks and ridges to attract the keen walker or climber. Some of these peaks are host to rare species of plants, and the area as a whole has a rich and varied bird population. There are also sightings of animals including the bush buck, Duiker, Klipspringer, African Hare, Porcupine, Eland, Water buck, and even Sable Antelope (rare). If you have the time, walk on past Binga and visit the might Martin Falls, wander around the bizarre rock formations, or wonder at the amazing variety of flowering plants.

Flora

For botanists, the mountains can offer many endemic species of plants including five Aloes (Aloe Munchii, A. Hazelima, A. Howmanii, A. Plowesii and A. Wildii), two species of Protea (Protea Cinita and P. Penervis) and three species of Erica (E. Lanceolifera, E. Pleiotricha, and E. Wildii).

Working with our community partners we have prepared a number of suggested routes for one, two and three-day hikes. We can provide maps with GPS points marked. In time we hope to work with the community and the rangers to identify and prepare simple camp sites.

Chikukwa

Chikukwa is just 5km further up the road from Binga Camp and is itself a Rangers camp that offers simple accommodation and camping to visitors. Chikukwa is a good day out from Binga Camp, with highlights being the waterfall and the rock art in caves in the Chimanimani gorge.

Mahate

Mahate is some 20km back down the road from Binga Camp and can be reached by car, though take great care crossing the river. Mahate is another Rangers camp where visitors can also stay. The great attraction of Mahate is the stunning deep gorge through which the Mussapa flows. Take the steep path down to the river and picnic on the rocks.

Bird-watching

The Mountains attract significant numbers of ornithologists, but there is much for the amateur bird-watcher to see too. Knowledgeable guides are available to take visitors on early morning walks. Birding highlights include the endemic Swynnerton’s Robin, as well as Perregrine Falcon, Bronze Sunbird