Zimbabwe

The capital of Zimbabwe during the Iron Age and dating back to the 11th century, Great Zimbabwe was home to the royal palace and an estimated 18,000 people in its heyday. At some point the city was abandoned, and now it stands empty and ruined, with its most prominent features being the mighty stone walls that reach 16 feet (5m) high, and the famous Zimbabwean Birds that were perched on top of eight monoliths around the city. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the ruins are majestic and impressive, and form the largest ancient structure south of the Sahara Desert. Exploring the ruined city is extremely thrilling; it is a mysterious place, inviting flights of the imagination and with a palpable sense of age.

Located in the north of Zimbabwe near the Zambian border, Kariba is the Zimbabwean centre for the tourist industry orientated around the magnificent Lake Kariba. It is also a good base from which to explore surrounding game reserves and attractions in northern Zimbabwe such as Mana Pools, a UNESCO World Heritage site.It's also useful as a stopover en route to Zambia. The town has a number of restaurants, casinos, quality resort hotels, and safari lodges, not to mention a number of large luxury houseboat hotels which use Kariba as a base.The airport at Kariba town is small, but regular flights to Kariba come in from Victoria Falls and Harare. The town is also only about four hours from Harare by road. Once there, the town is easily walkable, or you could make use of local taxis.Lake Kariba itself is one the largest manmade lakes in the world. It powers the hydroelectric Kariba Dam in the Zambezi River Basin, which provides much of Zambia and Zimbabwe's electricity. The large dam walls are an impressive sight, and worth a day trip.Such a large body of water attracts a multitude of game, especially in the dry seasons, so the game reserves bordering the dam make for excellent game viewing. Lake Kariba has a thriving commercial fishing industry and is also a world-renowned tiger fishing spot. The annual tiger fishing contest attracts teams from around Southern Africa and beyond every year.Because of its size and the abundance of wildlife it attracts, Lake Kariba is ideal for a safari holiday. You can travel the lake by canoe or on a houseboat for several days at a time, camping on the shore at night at designated spots as you go.For a more relaxed lake trip, hire a luxury cruiser or join a tour guide group for a day. The lake is no less impressive for being manmade: there are lots of islands and thousands of tiny inlets to explore. The Matusadona National Park, with its iconic half-submerged forest still standing after the lake was flooded half a century ago, is a favourite with photographers.

Mana Pools National Park has a split personality: it incorporates a vast expanse of flat, arid land which becomes a broad expanse of glorious lakes after each rainy season, which lasts from November to April. Animals follow the pools in search of water, and as the lakes dry up Mana Pools National Park is one of the best places in the country to view game like elephants, hippos, crocodiles and buffalo as they make the most of nature's bounty before it disappears. Mana means 'four' in Shona, and refers to four permanent pools in the middle Zambezi that make up the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Far from any human settlement, Mana Pools National park is a great place to experience a truly wild Zimbabwe.

Website : www.zimparks.org

The granite formations in Matobo National Park contain rock art and San artefacts that date back thousands of years. Surrounded by huge rock formations and delicately balanced boulders, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is a scenic place to see game like white and black rhinos, leopards, zebras, monkeys and much more. One of the strangest, but most fascinating attractions in Matobo Hills is the lizard feedings that take place three times daily at World's View, which is also where Cecil John Rhodes is buried. Although the game viewing can be spectacular, this area is mainly fascinating because of its ancient cultural remnants, making it a particularly exciting Zimbabwean attraction for those interested in rock art.

Website : www.zimparks.org

There are three primary national parks to explore while on holiday in Vic Falls - the Victoria Falls National Park, the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park on the Zambian side of the falls and, about 120 miles (193km) further south, the Hwange National Park. These parks feature a vast selection of wildlife including elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and various antelope; there are also occasional sightings of lion and leopard. There are a number of operators in Vic Falls town offering safaris to these national parks, as well as elephant-back safaris on Nakavango Estate and the 'walking with lions' experience at Masuwe Estate.The Victoria Falls National Park incorporates the iconic falls - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - and is therefore an absolute must for travellers in the region. Apart from the falls, and the gorgeous rainforest beneath, the national park includes varied landscapes populated by diverse game, including the Big Five: elephant, lion, buffalo, leopard and rhino.The Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is situated along the upper Zambezi River, on the Zambian side, and also incorporates part of Victoria Falls. Travellers will find that crossing the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia at Victoria Falls is generally very pain-free as border officials are totally accustomed to people popping over for a few hours to view both sides of the falls. Naturally both countries want to encourage tourism.The largest game reserve in Zimbabwe, Hwange National Park, covers more than 5,637 square miles (14,600 sq km) of land in the western tip of Zimbabwe, near the Kalahari Desert. The park contains large numbers of gemsbok, hyena, African wild dogs, and elephants, and safari lodges within Hwange offer a range of safaris either on foot, by 4x4, or on horseback.

The majestic Victoria Falls, or Mosi-oa-Tunya (the Smoke that Thunders), is located on the Zambezi River, between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Explorer David Livingstone named the falls after Queen Victoria when he first saw them in 1855. One of the seven natural wonders of the world, the falls have been attracting travellers and adventure-seekers for decades, its pounding waters creating a mist that can be seen for miles and the sound of the falls, especially in the rainy season (November to April) making it difficult to hear anything else. There is a trail that runs along the cliff adjacent to the waterfall which visitors can use to reach the scenic viewpoints; a helicopter tour is another phenomenal way to see the falls from above. Guided tours are available, and there are opportunities to bungee jump (one of the world's highest) and white water raft down this section of the Zambezi. It is impossible to visit the Victoria Falls without being blown away by its beauty and power, and both Zimbabwe and Zambia are justifiably proud of this great wonder.

Website : victoriafallstourism.org/