Explore Zimbabwe by province
Accommodation in Zimbabwe
10+ results in Zimbabwe
10+ results in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe has the best safari guides in Africa, by a distance that is not really argued about, because its guiding qualification takes years and includes walking clients among dangerous game. That is the reason to come: this is walking safari country, and Mana Pools on the Zambezi is where it is done best, in open albida woodland where you approach elephant and buffalo on foot with a licensed guide.
The rest of the country arranges itself around that. Victoria Falls is the entry point and a destination in itself, at its most thunderous from February to May when the Zambezi is in flood and quietest from September to December, when the flow drops and the gorge and the Devil's Pool open up. Hwange is the big game park, with pumped waterholes that draw enormous elephant herds through the dry months. Lake Kariba and the Matusadona shoreline are the quiet corner, and Matobo in the south has the rhino, the rock art and the granite.
June to October is the season for everything except the falls at full flood. Mana Pools is open roughly from April to November and closes in the wet. Zimbabwe is a malaria area, so plan for it.
June to October for game viewing, when Hwange's waterholes concentrate elephant and Mana Pools is open and dry. Victoria Falls is at peak flow from February to May and at its lowest, clearest and best for swimming at Devil's Pool from September to December. The two do not coincide, so pick which matters more.
Its professional guide qualification is among the most demanding in the world, taking several years and requiring proven competence with dangerous game on foot. Mana Pools is the signature place to use it, where the open woodland lets you approach elephant and buffalo on foot with a licensed guide.
February to May for maximum volume, when the spray is visible for kilometres and often obscures the view of the falls themselves. September to December for low water, when the rock face is exposed, the view is clear and Devil's Pool and Livingstone Island are open. Both are worth seeing; they are different experiences.
