Complete Zimbabwe Guide

Zimbabwe fits neatly on a mental map: to the northwest, the roar of Victoria Falls and Lake Kariba; to the west, the Hwange savannas where elephant herds number in the thousands; to the central east, the lush and cool Eastern Highlands touching the Mozambican border; to the south, the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, the 14th-century Shona capital whose granite walls still stand without mortar.

Our team based in Harare knows the country's particularities well: a reliable road network between major cities, national parks that see far fewer visitors than those in East Africa, and a community of naturalist guides among the most skilled on the continent. The country organizes easily as a loop or a traverse, often combined with the Okavango Delta on the Botswana side or Victoria Falls on the Zambian side.

For wildlife, Mana Pools on the Zambezi remains one of the rare areas in southern Africa where you can walk on foot in the presence of elephants and lions, accompanied by a professional guide. To build your itinerary, plan for a minimum of 10 to 14 days if you want to combine Hwange, Mana Pools, and the Falls, and aim for the dry season from April to October for wildlife viewing.