Top 10 Best Tourist Attractions and Places To Visit in Zimbabwe

By Philip Briggs

Zimbabwe is a fantastic safari and travel destination. And even though it is quieter than it was in its mid-1990s tourism prime, it is no less enjoyable. Many of Zimbabwe’s top tourist attractions, including Victoria Falls, Lake Kariba and Mana Pools, are associated with the Zambezi River, which flows east along the border with Zambia. Other good places to visit include the atmospheric ruins of Great Zimbabwe National Monument and the Big Five (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino) territory of Hwange National Park. Zimbabwe should sit close to the top of everyone’s Africa wish list.

260 Zimbabwe Safaris

1. Victoria Falls

Sunrise over Victoria Falls

The unique Victoria Falls tops almost everyone’s list of places to visit in Zimbabwe. The world’s biggest sheet of falling water, this phenomenal 1.6km-/1mi-wide landmark is formed by the mighty Zambezi River as it crashes over a 100m/328ft cliff into the Batoka Gorge. From the Zimbabwe side, a series of sensational viewpoints offer breathtaking side-on and full-frontal views of the falls framed by jungle.

Once you’ve finished admiring Victoria Falls (which is officially one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World), there’s plenty else to do nearby. Top activities include white-water rafting in Batoka Gorge, serene sundowner cruises just upriver of the Falls, and day safaris to look for lions and elephants in Zambezi National Park.

351 Victoria Falls Tours

2. Hwange National Park

Elephants in Hwange National Park

Easily visited from Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park is Zimbabwe’s largest national park and one of the continent’s best safari destinations. Wildlife is plentiful in Hwange year-round, and the park can be truly mind-boggling in the Dry season (April to October) when up to 50,000 elephants gather there. Other commonly seen animals include African wild dog, lion, cheetah, spotted hyena, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and wildebeest. The park is home to all of the Big Five, but leopards are hard to spot and rhinos are very scarce.

Hwange is notable for offering a wide diversity of safari experiences. Few parks in Africa are so well suited to self-drive visitors, but there are also several remote private concessions offering all-inclusive luxury packages.

82 Hwange Safaris

3. Mana Pools National Park

Lioness carrying her cub in Mana Pools National Park

Rivaling Hwange as Zimbabwe’s most legendary safari destination, Mana Pools National Park stands on a mesmerizing stretch of the Zambezi River downstream of Lake Kariba. As with Hwange, this park is famed for its large herds of elephant and buffalo, and it also supports good numbers of lion, leopard and African wild dog (but no rhino).

In other respects, Hwange and Mana Pools are two very different safari destinations. Where Hwange offers a full spectrum of classic safaris out of Victoria Falls, the more low-key Mana Pools focuses mainly on expertly guided fly-in walking and canoe safaris. Another big difference is that Hwange is easily visited all year round, whereas Mana Pools is only properly operational during the dry winter months from May to October.

22 Mana Pools Safaris

4. Matobo National Park

Stone formations in Matobo National Park

Matobo National Park is a Unesco World Heritage Site that protects a surreal landscape of granite domes and balancing rock formations. The park is best known for housing the grave of Cecil John Rhodes, the British imperialist who created the colony that eventually became Zimbabwe. Rhodes’ grave is well worth visiting for its spectacular setting on an immense rounded granite outcrop that has long been held sacred by the local Ndebele people.

Matobo is also of considerable interest for its wealth of prehistoric rock. A large panel at Nswatugi Cave is dominated by two figures of running giraffes, while White Rhino Shelter incorporates a rare depiction of the creature for which it is named. Fittingly, Matobo is today the one place in Zimbabwe where white rhinos can reliably be tracked on foot.

17 Matobo Safaris

5. Great Zimbabwe National Monument

Great Zimbabwe National Monument

In 1980, when Rhodesia gained full independence, it was renamed Zimbabwe after southern Africa’s most celebrated archaeological site. This is Great Zimbabwe, a Unesco World Heritage Site set in the attractive hilly midlands south of the capital, Harare. Although no written records remain, archaeological evidence suggests that different parts of the now-ruinous stone city were built between the 10th and 14th centuries. In its prime, Great Zimbabwe housed around 10,000 people and thrived as a mining community that exported gold around the globe via East Africa’s Swahili Coast.

Highlights of Great Zimbabwe include the Great Enclosure, with its patterned drystone walls and unique conical tower, and the fortified platforms and passages of the sprawling Hill Ruins. Drop in at the site museum to place the ruined city in historical perspective and to view a wealth of precious artifacts unearthed by archaeologists.

15 Great Zimbabwe Tours

6. Bulawayo

Bulawayo street scene

With its leafy wide avenues and laid-back provincial feel, Zimbabwe’s second city is an altogether more manageable prospect than the capital Harare. It was founded by the Ndebele king Lobengula, whose partially restored capital can be visited on the town outskirts. Other points of interest include the well-managed Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, the delightful suburban Hillside Dams Conservancy, and the out-of-town Khami Ruins.

16 Bulawayo Tours

7. Eastern Highlands

Lake in Nyanga National Park

You won’t see many other tourists in the Eastern Highlands. But for keen walkers, bird-watchers and others who simply enjoy getting away from the mainstream, this beautiful region is one of the best places to visit in Zimbabwe. Top tourist attractions? Well there’s Nyanga National Park, with its immense granite domes and breathtaking suspended skywalk facing Mutarazi Falls (Africa’s second-tallest waterfall). Elsewhere, hardy hikers will love exploring the valleys and hills of Chimanimani National Park, while bird-watchers can look for localized forest specials in Vumba Botanical Gardens or Chirinda Forest Reserve (Africa’s most southerly true rainforest).

Eastern Highlands Tours

8. Lake Kariba

Sunset over Lake Kariba

Measured by water volume, Lake Kariba is the world’s largest artificial reservoir. It was created in the late 1950s following the construction of a 128m-/420ft-high double-arch hydroelectric dam on the Zambezi River as it funnels through Kariba Gorge. From the small town of Kariba, perched on a green slope at the lake’s eastern end, you can enjoy great views over the dam wall as well as some satisfying wildlife viewing. Better still, rent a houseboat to spend a few days exploring Lake Kariba at leisure, or enjoy an off-the-beaten-track safari among hippos, elephants and lions in lakeside Matusadona National Park.

Lake Kariba Tours

9. Gonarezhou National Park

Elephant at the Chilojo Cliffs in Gonarezhou National Park

Gonarezhou National Park is the perfect safari destination for self-drive visitors with a sturdy 4x4 vehicle. It’s also the best place to visit in Zimbabwe for those seeking an upmarket guided safari that prioritizes the bush experience above luxury facilities. After years of neglect, this remote park is blossoming under the joint management of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, which operates a great network of rustic bush camps and campsites. Gonarezhou’s scenic showpiece is the Chilojo Cliffs, whose golden sandstone walls tower 200m/650ft above the Runde River. All of the Big Five are present, following the reintroduction of black rhino in 2021, though only elephant could be described as common.

Gonarezhou Safaris

10. Chinhoyi Caves

A crystal blue pond, Chinhoyi Caves The cobalt-blue ‘sleeping pool’ at Chinhoyi Caves

This dolomite sinkhole is the centerpiece of a small national park situated alongside the main road between Harare and Mana Pools. Here, a short walking trail leads to a viewpoint over the transparent cobalt ‘sleeping pool’ that floods the main cave. This beautiful 90m-/295ft-deep pool is popular with local divers, but you’ll be permitted to take the plunge only if you visit with a Zimbabwe-registered dive club.

Chinhoyi Caves Tours