This dam in Mozambique is large hydro electric scheme that supplies electricity to grids as far as South Africa. The nearby town is called Songo.

Get in

From Tete take the road back towards Zimbabwe, turning off at the Songo turnoff. Then just follow your nose - the road is good quality and will take you into Songo itself. If going by chapas, they leave from outside the TDM office on Av de Liberdade. It costs around 80,000 meticais and will take 3-4 hours. The drive up through the mountains is pretty spectacular.

On Route

An alternative route is to drive north along the Zambezi River bank along a dirt track. This takes you through numerous picturesque villages. The road is in bad condition with many bridges washed out, most probably due to the floods in 2000 / 2001. A four wheel drive vehicle is recommended or a vehicle with high ground clearance. The track joins the main Tete-Songo road approximately 50 km south of Songo. A highlight of the tour is an old monastery, church and school on the way. The church is in bad condition and will, most probably, decline with time. It is used today as a secondary school. Catholic church service is on Sunday mornings which will have to be attended to view the church from the inside.

Get around

Songo was established in 1969 to house the workers for the construction of the dam. Today, it is still devoted to the Cahorra Bassa dam. It is entirely unlike any other in Mozambique in that there's no formal city centre - it's more a series of loosely connected barrios. Nor are there any chapas running around the town. This may sound like a nightmare, but in actual practice it doesn't matter an awful lot - there are only a couple of places you can stay and the best thing about Songo itself is the walking, which is pretty spectacular.

See

The hills and the dam. The former are easy enough - just look around you. The latter takes a little more effort, but isn't difficult. You can't just turn up - Cahorra Bassa is a secure site and you'll get turned away at the gate even if you do walk the distance between Songo and the dam. Fortunately the owner of the O Sitio restaurant in Songo is head of the public relations so head there and ask him about visiting.

Do

Tiger fishing. Also vundo, bream and other species available. Ugezi Tiger Lodge offers boats with experienced skippers for the avid fishermen and sightseeing on the dam. Guided tours can be arranged to visit the dam wall to see the hydro electricity plant in action.

Buy

There is a reasonably well stocked supermarket and market.

Eat

'O Sitio' restaurant in Songo. Ugezi Tiger Lodge has an A La Carte restaurant and offers the best full bream and bream fillets money can buy.

Drink

Ugezi Tiger Lodge has a well stocked bar which is popular amongst the locals.

Sleep

Ugezi Tiger Lodge is situated near the town of Songo. It also has 15 chalets and 4 self-catering rooms, all airconditioned and a camp site. The entire lodge is fitted with flood lights and has security at night. For more information email info@ugezitigerlodge.com. A new bush camp on the banks of the Lake Cahora Bassa is Nhenda Camp. For more information e-mail info@runningporcupine.co.za.

Get out

This is trickier. Due to the lack of a centre, chapas heading back to Tete drive round Songo picking people up, so you need to arrange this in advance. It's best to ask the driver who brought you there and he'll let you know the score.