Must see attractions in Zimbabwe

Top ChoiceSights in Victoria Falls (town)

Here on the Zimbabwe side of the falls you're in for a real treat. Some two-thirds of Victoria Falls are located here, including the main falls themselves, which flow spectacularly year-round. The walk is along the top of the gorge, following a path with various viewing points that open up to extraordinary front-on panoramas of these world-famous waterfalls.

Top ChoiceSights in The Midlands & Southeastern Zimbabwe

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.

Top ChoiceSights in The Midlands & Southeastern Zimbabwe

Hidden in the southeast corner of the country is the stunning Gonarezhou National Park, ZImbabwe's second largest park (5000 sq km) and regarded by many as one of its best kept secrets. Sharing the border with Mozambique, the park is also virtually an extension of South Africa’s Kruger National Park. So, in late 2002, the relevant authorities in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique created the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a 35,000-sq-km park straddling all three countries (with no boundaries).

Top ChoiceSights in Western Zimbabwe

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.

Top ChoiceSights in Western Zimbabwe

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.

Top ChoiceSights in Northern Zimbabwe

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.

Top ChoiceSights in Harare

The grandiose obelisk of Heroes' Acre, overlooking the town, is straight out of Pyongyang, yet lies just 7km from Harare. Designed with the assistance of North Korea, it serves as a sombre memorial to the forces who died during the Second Chimurenga. There's a giant socialist-realism statue of the unknown soldier (actually three soldiers), flanked by bronze friezes depicting stirring war victories. Entrance is free, but there's an admission fee for the interesting museum dedicated to the resistance movement.

Sights in Eastern Highlands

With its pristine wilderness, Chimanimani National Park is a hiker's paradise. Sharing a border with Mozambique, the park is still very wild and unspoiled, with picturesque landscapes, evergreen forest, cascading streams and waterholes. Its only downside are illegal gold panners who have added some unwanted trails. Most people begin their hikes at Mutekeswane Base Camp (15km from Chimanimani town), where you must sign in and pay park fees. Here the road ends and the park is then only accessible on foot.

Sights in Bulawayo

Just 22km from Bulawayo, the Unesco World Heritage–listed Khami Ruins may not have the grandeur of Great Zimbabwe, but it's an impressive archaeological site nonetheless. The second largest stone monument built in Zimbabwe, Khami was developed between 1450 and 1650 as the capital of the Torwa dynasty, and abandoned in the 19th century with the arrival of Ndebele. It's spread over a 2km site in a peaceful natural setting overlooking the Khami Dam.

Sights in Matobo National Park

One of Zimbabwe's most breathtaking sites, the aptly named World's View takes in epic 360-degree views of the park. The peacefulness up here is immense, taking on a spiritual quality that makes it clear why it's so sacred to the Ndebele people. It's also the burial spot of Rhodesia's founder, Cecil Rhodes, whose grave sits, somewhat controversially, atop between two boulders.

Sights in Bulawayo

Whether you're a train enthusiast or not, Bulwayo's Railway Museum rarely disappoints. Its passionate curator, Gordon Murray, will take you on a tour of the place, where you'll get a fascinating insight into the colonial history of the country through Bulawayo's extensive railway network. There are some wonderful Rhodesian Railways steam engines and carriages to clamber aboard, including the Jack Tar (1889), the first train to cross the Victoria Falls Bridge.

Top ChoiceSights in Bulawayo

Zimbabwe's largest and best museum makes for an essential visit. Set over three floors, it offers a great overview of the country's natural, anthropological and geological history. Its highlight is its taxidermy display, which includes a monster elephant, shot 160km south from here. There's also an impressive collection of gemstones, showcasing the country's astounding wealth of natural resources. At its centre is a collection of live snakes, including black mambas and cobras.

Top ChoiceSights in Harare

In the southeast corner of Harare Gardens, this lovely gallery has multiple spaces exhibiting a mix of contemporary local, African and international artists. Shows change monthly, with a mix of paintings, photography, stone sculptures, masks and carvings. The attached shop is an excellent place to stock up on crafts and books on Zimbabwean art, before coffee and cake in the cafe. There's an open-air Shona sculpture garden outside.

Sights in Gonarezhou National Park

In addition to wildlife, another of Gonarezhou's major drawcards are its majestic Chilojo Cliffs. These spectacular red-and-white banded sandstone columns are unlike anything else you'll find in the country. The best view is from above the clifftop, resembling a mini grand canyon with its rock formations combined with endless vistas over the Runde River and extending plains. It's also impressive from below as it stretches 30km across ways.

Sights in Matobo National Park

Dotted around the 425-sq-km Matobo National Park are 3000 officially registered rock-art sites, including one of the best collections in the world of San paintings (estimated to be anywhere from 6000 to 10,000 years old). White Rhino Shelter, Bambata Cave, Pomongwe Cave and Nswatugi Cave have some fine examples.

Sights in Northern Zimbabwe

Situated on the southern shore of Lake Kariba, the beautiful Matusadona National Park is home to the Big Five, including the endangered black rhino. While poaching has hit the park hard in the past decade, there remains an abundance of elephants, lions and outstanding birdwatching. Ghostly dead trees act as roosting places for fish eagles, cormorants and darters. The best time for wildlife viewing is between July and November.

Sights in Bulawayo

Set in a beautiful 100-year-old, colonial, double-terrace Edwardian building, the National Art Gallery shows temporary and permanent exhibitions of contemporary Zimbabwean sculpture and paintings. A visit here wouldn't be complete without dropping by the studios of the artists in residence, who you can meet at work and buy from directly. There's a quality gallery shop and lovely cafe too.

Top ChoiceSights in Victoria Falls (town)

This impressive little museum details the cultural heritage of Zimbabwe's indigenous ethnic groups. There's good background information on the Shona, Ndebele, Tonga and Lozi people, as well as fascinating artefacts, jewellery and costumes.

Sights in Harare

A must for contemporary art lovers is this gallery inside the charming colonial house of eminent Rhodesian painter Robert Paul (1906–79). It showcases wonderful works by contemporary Zimbabwean artists, with shows held monthly.

Sights in Nyanga National Park

These National Monument ruins of communities who specialised in pottery date to AD 200 and are one of Zimbabwe's more impressive archaeological sites. The terraced hills are from ensuing agricultural communities from the 1500s. There's a museum, along with relics from a fort, furnaces and pit enclosures.