Zimbabwe: Why More People Should Come Here

Zimbabwe has a complicated reputation that keeps visitor numbers lower than its attractions deserve. The political situation has stabilised since 2017, USD is accepted everywhere for tourist transactions, and you will not be fighting tour buses for parking at most sites. Victoria Falls is one of the genuine wonders of the world. The elephant population at Hwange is one of the largest in Africa. Great Zimbabwe, the ruins of a medieval stone city that housed 18,000 people, receives fewer visitors in a year than Stonehenge gets in a week.

Victoria Falls

The falls are on the Zambezi River on the border with Zambia. The best full-width view is from the rainforest walk on the Zimbabwean cliff edge directly opposite the main curtain. Entry USD $30. Season matters: April through June at peak flood the falls are almost invisible behind spray that rises 300 metres; August through October the water is lower and the rock formations clearer. Both versions are impressive; they are different impressions.

Bungee jumping off Victoria Falls Bridge (111 metres above the Zambezi, operated by Shearwater) costs USD $160. The white-water rafting below the falls runs Grade 4-5 depending on season and costs USD $130-160 for a full day. Both are genuinely serious activities rather than theme park experiences.

Hwange National Park

180km east of Victoria Falls and covering 14,600 square kilometres, Hwange has an elephant population of around 45,000-50,000 animals. During the dry season (July through October) the elephants concentrate around the artificial waterholes in numbers that are remarkable even by African standards. Watching several hundred elephants drinking simultaneously at Nyamandhlovu Pan is one of those things that is impossible to convey in a photograph.

The park also holds good lion numbers, wild dog (more reliably seen here than almost anywhere else in Zimbabwe), and leopard. Safari camps range from national park lodges (around $50/night) to private concession lodges ($300-600/night all-in). The private concessions offer night drives and off-road capability that the main park doesn’t permit; the difference in game viewing quality is real.

Great Zimbabwe

Near Masvingo, 290km south of Harare: the stone ruins of a city that was the capital of a kingdom controlling the gold trade between the African interior and the Indian Ocean coast from the 13th to 15th centuries. The Great Enclosure is the largest ancient structure in sub-Saharan Africa, built from granite blocks without mortar. The site is genuinely impressive and almost empty of visitors.

Entry USD $15. The site museum provides good context on the archaeological interpretation and the history of colonial denial that the ruins were built by Africans. Allow 2-3 hours. The name Zimbabwe itself comes from this site: dzimba-dza-mabwe, “houses of stone” in the Shona language.

Matobo National Park

30km south of Bulawayo, the Matobo Hills are a landscape of enormous granite boulders in configurations that look more composed than natural. Cecil Rhodes is buried on the summit of Malindidzimu (World’s View), which he chose himself for the view. The park has the highest density of eagles in Africa and a protected white and black rhino population; guided rhino tracking walks run around USD $50-80 per person and are among the better wildlife experiences in Zimbabwe.

Practical Notes

USD cash is the smoothest payment method; card acceptance is improving but unreliable outside Harare and Victoria Falls. Zimbabwe introduced the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency in 2024 to replace earlier currencies, but USD remains dominant for tourist transactions. The rainy season runs November through March; the dry season (May-October) is the best safari season.