Level: Free shore access This spot have a free shore access: you can go snorkeling there freely and without having to book a tour or pay an entrance fee. Resort nearby
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Last updated on January 10, 2021
Nuarro Lodge, in Nanatha Bay, has one of the most beautiful house reefs in Mozambique. This magnificent natural site allows you to explore seagrass beds and coral areas teeming with underwater life, just a few steps from the beach. Angelfish, clownfish, sweetlips and starfish are easy to see here, among dozens of other colorful species.
Nanatha Bay is located on the Pinda Peninsula, in the Memba district, in northern Mozambique. This spot is accessible from shore but is very remote. It’s hard to get there if you don’t stay at the Nuarro Lodge, which is located in the bay.
Nuarro Lodge will organize your taxi transfers, mainly from Nampula Airport (around 4h30 drive) or from Nacala Airport (around 2h30).
We advise you to enter the water from the beach, in front of Nuarro Lodge beach bar.
Nanatha Bay is a marine reserve since 2007 and boasts a 1 mile-long powdery white sand beach and several coves. The beach is edged by a coral reef which is home to a great diversity of fish.
Starting from the beach, you’ll first swim above 100 to 200m-wide seagrass beds, depending on the location, to reach the reef area. Reefs are found all along the beach, and slopes quite gently.
On the shallow reef areas (max. 6ft/2m deep), you’ll spot many fish species commonly found on the coral reefs of the region. Pufferfish, butterflyfish, parrotfish, sweetlips, and sergeants majors are particularly common.
Several species of angelfish, including the semicircle angelfish, regal angelfish, and goldtail angelfish, easy to spot in most areas. Look for sea anemones, which often hosts the twobar anemonefish, a clownfish species that only lives in the southwestern Indian Ocean. Some lionfish are also hiding here and there on the reef.
The red-knobbed starfish is a common sighting in the shallow seagrass beds. This beautiful sea star can reach a size of 30cm.
This spot is the house reef of Nuarro Lodge, which offers beachfront chalets, cottages, and rooms.
These snorkeling spots are accessible to beginners and kids. You will enter the water gradually from a beach, or in a less than 3ft. deep area. The sea is generally calm, shallow, with almost no waves or currents. These spots are usually located in marked and/or monitored swimming areas. It is not necessary to swim long distances to discover the sea life. This level only apply when the spot experiences optimal sea and/or weather conditions. It is not applicable if the sea and/or weather conditions deteriorate, in particular in the presence of rough sea, rain, strong wind, unusual current, large tides, waves and/or swell. You can find more details about the definition of our snorkeling levels on our snorkeling safety page.
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Snorkeling spots are part of a wild environment and their aspect can be significantly altered by weather, seasons, sea conditions, human impact and climate events (storms, hurricanes, seawater-warming episodes…). The consequences can be an alteration of the seabed (coral bleaching, coral destruction, and invasive seagrass), a poor underwater visibility, or a decrease of the sea life present in the area. Snorkeling Report makes every effort to ensure that all the information displayed on this website is accurate and up-to-date, but no guarantee is given that the underwater visibility and seabed aspect will be exactly as described on this page the day you will snorkel the spot. If you recently snorkeled this area and noticed some changes compared to the information contained on this page, please contact us.
The data contained in this website is for general information purposes only, and is not legal advice. It is intended to provide snorkelers with the information that will enable them to engage in safe and enjoyable snorkeling, and it is not meant as a substitute for swim level, physical condition, experience, or local knowledge. Remember that all marine activities, including snorkeling, are potentially dangerous, and that you enter the water at your own risk. You must take an individual weather, sea conditions and hazards assessment before entering the water. If snorkeling conditions are degraded, postpone your snorkeling or select an alternate site. Know and obey local laws and regulations, including regulated areas, protected species, wildlife interaction and dive flag laws.
