Things to Do in Zimbabwe

From Victoria Falls to the stone ruins of Great Zimbabwe - the essential sights, and how to keep your own record of them.

Travel guide - last updated September 2026

Zimbabwe's side of Victoria Falls offers the more dramatic, closer-up view and the wider range of adventure activities, and the town of Victoria Falls itself has rebuilt into a genuine tourism hub despite years of broader economic difficulty. Hwange National Park's elephant herds and the medieval stone ruins that gave the country its name round out a trip that remains underrated relative to its neighbors. Here are 5 places worth building a trip around.

Top attractions

The sights most first-time visitors build an itinerary around.

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Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe side)

Locally known as Mosi-oa-Tunya ('The Smoke That Thunders'), with the Zimbabwean side offering the widest, most panoramic frontal views of the falls, along with bungee jumping and white-water rafting nearby.

📍 Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

🚉 Victoria Falls town has an international airport 20 minutes away and a station on the line from Bulawayo - the rainforest entrance is a 10-minute walk from the town centre.

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Hwange National Park

Zimbabwe's largest national park, with one of the largest elephant populations in Africa - herds gather in especially large numbers around waterholes during the dry season.

📍 Western Zimbabwe

🚉 The main camp is at Hwange Main Gate, two hours south of Victoria Falls by road; the overnight train from Victoria Falls to Bulawayo stops at Dete, 25km from the park, and lodges collect from there.

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Great Zimbabwe

The stone ruins of a medieval city that gave modern Zimbabwe its name, built entirely without mortar between the 11th and 15th centuries - the largest ancient structure in sub-Saharan Africa outside Egypt.

📍 Masvingo Province

🚉 The ruins are 30km from Masvingo, which has buses from Harare and Bulawayo, with local combis and taxis covering the last stretch to the hill complex.

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Mana Pools National Park

A UNESCO World Heritage park along the Zambezi River, known for walking safaris without vehicles - among the few African parks that permit unguided walking for experienced visitors with proper permits.

📍 Northern Zimbabwe

🚉 Access is by 4x4 from Marongora on the Harare-Chirundu road, four hours, then 70km of rough track, or by light aircraft to the airstrips - the park is closed for the wet season.

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Eastern Highlands

A cooler, greener mountain region near the Mozambique border, with the Vumba Botanical Gardens and hiking around Nyanga National Park offering a contrast to the country's savanna parks.

📍 Manicaland, Eastern Zimbabwe

🚉 Mutare is the gateway, four hours from Harare by bus, with local transport up to Nyanga, Vumba and Chimanimani - the mountain roads are winding and a car makes the difference.

Mark Zimbabwe, get the stamp

🇿🇼ZIMBABWEVISITED

🇿🇼ZIMBABWELIVED

🇿🇼ZIMBABWEWISHLIST

In MyPassportStory, every country you mark - visited, lived in, or still on the list - becomes a stamp like these in your own travel passport. Add the cities you stopped in, draw the route between them, and turn the whole trip into a shareable passport-style image.

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Planning questions

How many days do you need in Zimbabwe?

A week suits Victoria Falls plus a Hwange National Park safari well, connected by a short domestic flight or drive.

What's the best time to visit Zimbabwe?

May-October (dry season) is best for safari viewing at Hwange, when animals concentrate around remaining waterholes. Victoria Falls has the most dramatic water flow roughly February-May.

Is Zimbabwe good for a first-time visit?

Yes, particularly Victoria Falls town, which is well set up for tourism - Hwange and Mana Pools are typically visited through an organized safari lodge given the more remote logistics.

Do I need a visa to visit Zimbabwe?

Most nationalities can get a visa on arrival, or use the joint KAZA Univisa covering both Zimbabwe and Zambia for visitors crossing between them at Victoria Falls. Check the official visa information for your nationality: evisa.gov.zw.

What are some things to do in Zimbabwe on a tight budget?

Viewing Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwean walking trails is inexpensive relative to add-on activities like bungee jumping, joining a shared-group safari costs considerably less than a private one, and Great Zimbabwe's entry fee is modest for the scale of the site.

Can I rent a car in Zimbabwe, and what licence do I need?

Yes, and a 4x4 is needed for Mana Pools and the Hwange interior. A foreign licence in English is valid for up to 90 days; otherwise an International Driving Permit or a certified translation is required. Minimum age is generally 23. Traffic drives on the left. Fuel supply has been intermittent in recent years, so fill up whenever you pass a working station, and police roadblocks are frequent - carry the vehicle papers, two reflective triangles and a fire extinguisher, all of which are legally required. Official visitor information is published by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority at zimbabwetourism.net.