Zimbabwe

Taking its place alongside the Pyramids and the Serengeti, Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya – the ‘smoke that thunders’) is one of Africa’s original blockbusters. And although Zimbabwe and Zambia share it, Victoria Falls is a place all of its own.

As a magnet for tourists of all descriptions – backpackers, tour groups, thrill seekers, families, honeymooners – Victoria Falls is one of Earth’s great spectacles. View it directly as a raging mile-long curtain of water, in all its glory, from a helicopter ride or peek precariously over its edge from Devil's Pools; the sheer power and force of the falls is something that simply does not disappoint.

Whether you’re here purely to take in the sight of a natural wonder of the world, or for a serious hit of adrenalin via rafting or bungee jumping into the Zambezi, Victoria Falls is a place where you're sure to tick off numerous items from that bucket list.

The mysterious ruined city of Great Zimbabwe dates back to the 11th to 15th centuries AD and remains the emblem and heart of the nation. The Unesco World Heritage–listed site provides evidence that ancient Africa reached a level of civilisation not suspected by earlier scholars. The site is divided into several major ruins with three main areas – Hill Complex, the Valley and the Great Enclosure.

This magnificent 2200-sq-km national park is a Unesco World Heritage–listed site and its magic stems from its remoteness and pervading sense of the wild and natural. This is one park in Zimbabwe where you’re guaranteed close encounters with plenty of hippos, crocs, zebras and elephants and are almost guaranteed to see lions and possibly wild dogs, leopards and cheetahs.

Harare has a great choice of eating options, from restaurants doing local dishes to an impressive range of multicultural cuisine. Many of its restaurants are set in charming converted houses surrounded by gardens, which adds to the experience.

For self-caterers and those budgeting, supermarkets are well-stocked and also have inexpensive ready-to-eat meals such as sadza (maize-meal porridge) and meat dishes.

This narrow strip of mountain country that makes up Manicaland province isn’t the Africa that normally crops up in armchair travellers’ fantasies. The Eastern Highlands more resembles Great Britain, with verdant hills cloaked in mists, and pine forests and botanical gardens taking the place of the usual arid landscapes and game plains. It's where well-heeled Harare residents used to head away to their weekend holiday homes to fish for trout and sit by the fireplace in between meanders into the countryside.

The region has always had huge tourism potential; during the 1990s it was a backpacker hub, but these days it only gets a fraction of the visitors it deserves. Come to hike in its spectacular national parks – it offers easily the best walks in the country, taking you past tranquil rivers, waterfalls and stunning vistas overlooking Mozambique.

One of the 10 largest national parks in Africa, and the largest in Zimbabwe, at 14,651 sq km, Hwange National Park, pronounced ‘Wang-ee’, has a ridiculous amount of wildlife. Some 400 species of bird and 107 types of animal can be found in the park, including lions, giraffes, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs. But the elephant is what really defines Hwange, being home to one of the world's largest populations of around 40,000 tuskers.

Home to some of the most majestic granite scenery in the world, the Matobo National Park is one of the unsung highlights of Zimbabwe. This Unesco World Heritage Site is a stunning and otherworldly landscape of balancing rocks, kopjes – giant boulders unfeasibly teetering on top of one another. When you see it, it's easy to understand why Matobo is considered the spiritual home of Zimbabwe. The national park is separated into two sections – the recreational park and the game park.