The Chimanimani mountains are a dramatic range of sharp quartzite peaks - a very hard type of rock - that have been shaped by millions of years of rain and wind. The rock glitters in the sunlight and the slopes are covered in heather, ferns, and patches of tropical forest. It is a very different landscape from the flat coastal plains below.
Cloud forests are forests that sit right inside low clouds for much of the year. The constant moisture makes them incredibly rich habitats. Mosses and lichens cover every branch, orchids grow on the tree trunks, and the air smells fresh and cool even in summer. Animals like the samango monkey and rare mountain butterflies live here.
Climbing Mount Binga requires a multi-day trek through the national park that protects the mountains. Hikers camp overnight on the slopes, listening to strange night sounds and watching the stars appear above the clouds. On a clear morning from the top, you can see for hundreds of kilometres.
The Chimanimani National Reserve also protects one of the most important freshwater rivers in Mozambique. The rivers that start high up on these mountains carry water down to villages and farms on the plains below, making the mountains vital to the whole region.