Zimbabwe Travel Advice

General information for Zimbabwe

Continent: Africa

Geographical location: Southern Africa, west of the Central African Rift, located in the southern hemisphere

Highest elevation: Mafinga Mountains (2339 m above sea level)

Longest river: Zambezi (approx. 2500 km)

Form of government: Republic System of

Government: Presidential system

Languages: English, various Bantu languages

Neighboring countries: Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana and Zambia

Capital: Harare

Area: Approx. 390757 km²

Residents: Approx. 16,150,000 people (2018)

Population density: 41 residents per km²

Religions: Christians 85%, Muslims <1%, other African natural religions

Currency: US dollar, South African rand, renminbi, euro.

Climate: Subtropical to tropical climate, with humid, sometimes humid and hot summer (up to over 35 ° C) and winter dry season with pleasant warmth (around 25 ° C)

Time zone: UTC + 2

Area code: +263

Country code: ZW, ZWE, 716

Electricity: Type D and G sockets are used in Zimbabwe. The mains voltage is 3 x 220V with a 50Hz change interval. A travel plug adapter is an advantage. An overview of the sockets and plugs used in our travel countries can be found at wikipedia.de.

Check a2zdirectory for old history of Zimbabwe and agooddir for modern history of Zimbabwe.

National parks and nature conservation in Zimbabwe

There are 11 national parks in Zimbabwe, which place around 27,455 km² of the land area under special protection. Together with other wildlife and landscape parks, the protected areas make up approx. 27.2% of Zimbabwe’s national territory. The most interesting national parks in Zimbabwe are:

Hwange National Park

The Hwange National Park is the largest national park in Zimbabwe with an area of 14,651 km². The park in the west of the country on the border with Botswana is located on the edge of the Kalahari and, with its extensive animal population, is one of the most important nature reserves in the country. At the same time it is part of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. In the desert-like southwest, the vegetation consists of dry sandy soils made of grassland with individual camel thorn acacias, hardened by stone. The east is more densely overgrown due to the greater amount of rainfall, on higher trees there are African teak trees, bubinga trees as well as sandalwood and wing fruit trees. Mopane forest also grows in the generally more humid north of the park.

Hwange National Park is home to populations of African elephants, African buffalo, giraffes, plains zebras, hippos, desert warthogs, and large numbers of antelopes, including wildebeest, greater kudu, impala, and sable antelope. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, African wild dogs and hyenas are represented as predatory mammals. In the Hwange National Park you can see fine finches, Nile and humped geese, jugglers and various species of vulture in particular bird species.

Gonarezhou National Park

The Gonarezhou National Park, located in the southeast of Zimbabwe, is the second largest national park in Zimbabwe with an area of 5053 km² after the Hwange National Park. Together with the Kruger National Park in South Africa and the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique, as well as some smaller protected areas, it forms the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which spans across countries.

The national park established in 1975 is mostly below 400 m above sea level in the so-called Lowveld of Zimbabwe. In the north of the park, magnificent landscapes with sandstone cliffs such as the Chilojo Cliffs have formed along the rivers.

Despite its problems, the national park is known for its diverse fauna and especially for the diversity of bird species. Many species of antelope live in the park, including the nyala antelope and the musk ibex. Elephant, buffalo, lion and leopard are among the Big Five in southern Africa that can be seen in Gonarezhou National Park.

Chizarira National Park

The Chizarira National Park is located in the northwest of Zimbabwe, southeast of the Zambezi, which is dammed up to Lake Kariba, and, together with the neighboring safari parks Chete and Chirisa, covers an area of approx. 1,920 km². The park, which was founded in 1938 as a protected area with a hunting ban, has been an animal protection area since 1963 and a national park since 1975. The landscape consists of dense miombo and mopane forests, floodplains and the surrounding tunda mountains. As the least developed and developed national park in Zimbabwe, the Chizarira National Park is something for the real adventurer who prefers to be out and about with just a backpack, tent and sleeping bag. Walking in the national park is only allowed with a guide. In addition to elephants, buffalo, various antelopes, Lions and leopards are also common in smaller mammals like the rock hyrax or klipspringer. Among the 370 bird species that are native to the Chizarira National Park, there is the legendary Angolapitta, which is popular for photo safaris.

Mana Pools National Park

The Mana Pools National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is shaped by the landscape of the adjacent Zambezi River. “Mana” stands for four and denotes the water-filled basin of the Zambezi, these are distributed throughout the national park. The special feature of this park is that visitors can move around the protected area without a guide. Care should be taken as predators such as lions and leopards move around the park. At the river points you can see Nile crocodiles, hippos, elephants, zebras and buffalo.

Matobo National Park

The Matobo National Park, which is located in the Matobo Mountains and encompasses 3,100 km², is the oldest national park in Zimbabwe and is very interesting both in terms of landscape and history. The landscape of the national park is characterized by imposing rock formations with contrasts between lovely grassland and rugged granite. The Mpopoma river valley with its 200 million year old hills and “balancing rocks”, in which the erosia has left deep traces, is particularly attractive. There are various small dams in the park, the lakes of which are filled depending on the season and are particularly suitable for stalking animals.

The San who lived here 2000 years ago left a rich legacy of rock carvings and other historical artifacts that are listed as World Heritage Sites.

In the park you will find larger antelopes such as kudu or eland, but also the black (black) and white (white) rhinoceros, big cats and giraffes, zebras and six species of eagles as well as a variety of other bird species.

Zambesi National Park

The Zambesi National Park in Zimbabwe continues the Lower Zambezi National Park on the Zimbabwean river side of the Zambezi. It covers an area of 56,000 km² on the banks of the Zambezi, which is covered with dense rainforest with orchids, ferns, lichens and creepers.

In the dry season, numerous animals gather at the remaining ponds as the only water source in the wider area. The area is therefore popular for viewing large animals such as the African elephant, African buffalo, leopard and cheetah. Numerous Nile crocodiles and hippos from the drying Zambezi withdraw to the few remaining waters in summer. A visit to the national park is therefore not only recommended because of the better passability in the South African summer.

Victoria Falls National Park

The 23 km² large Victoria Falls National Park opens up unique views of the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi side of the Zambezi, where in the rainy season up to 500 million m³ of water per minute from a height of 140 meters and a width of two kilometers into the Plunge deep. Due to the permanent splashing water, a flora corresponding to the rainforest has developed compared to the falls. The border crossing to Zambia is right next to the park. One of the most spectacular bungee jump stations in Africa is located here.

Other national parks and nature reserves in Zimbabwe are:

Chimanimani National Park, Kazuma Pan National Park, Matusadona National Park and Nyanga National Park

Medical information for Zimbabwe

For legal reasons, we as a tour operator are not allowed to communicate any binding medical information for Zimbabwe and therefore refer to the information provided by the Federal Foreign Office, the Robert Koch Institute and the German Society for Tropical Medicine and International Health

Travel advice for Zimbabwe

You can obtain current travel and safety information, information on entering and leaving the country, as well as special criminal information and recommendations for your stay in Zimbabwe from the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany.