Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in Africa with a land area of 390,757 square kilometers (96.5 million acres) occupied by over 14.4 million people. The country is rich in history, culture and natural resources, which is why it is among the top African countries to visit.
Human settlement in Zimbabwe dates back over 100,000 years ago. The country is home to archeological sites that have evidence of human habitation that far back. The San people, known as the country’s earliest population, left behind artifacts like arrowheads and other ancient hunting gear. They also left some cave paintings that describe early life in Africa.
For decades, Zimbabwe experienced political unrest. But with a new political regime in this landlocked country, tourism is only going to get better. In the first place, tourists already enjoy visiting Zimbabwe for its natural resources. As a landlocked country, the landscapes comprise high plateaus, hills, and mountains. But that doesn’t mean that the country doesn’t have exciting water bodies. One of the nation’s most famous natural attractions is the Victoria Falls. Victoria Falls is the world’s largest waterfall. Exciting activities await tourists in Victoria Falls.
Zimbabwe is also home to the Big five: buffaloes, elephants, leopards, lions, and rhinoceroses. The best way to see the Big five is through the country’s national parks. There are various protected areas and wildlife reserve in Zimbabwe, but here are five unexplored national parks for tourists to enjoy the great big wilderness:
1. Chizarira National Park
This is one of the largest protected areas in Zimbabwe at 2,000 square kilometers (490,000 acres). It is not as popular as the others because it is quite remote and hard to visit, because it is situated on the Zambezi Escarpment. But for those who conquer the difficulty and visit the park, they will be rewarded with majestic views of Zimbabwe.
The ecosystem includes miombo woodlands as well as mopane woodlands. The bottom of the escarpment is the Zambezi River valley. From there, one can marvel at the beautiful Lake Kariba, which is the world’s largest man-made lake. It is over 223 kilometers long and around 40 kilometers wide. It runs along the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Of course, the park’s centerpiece is the wildlife. The Big five is not as complete here without the presence of the rhinoceros. But the African elephants, Cape buffaloes, leopards, and lions are already astonishing enough to see. The park is also a great habitat for the klipspringer, which thrives in steep places. There is also a large population of birds in the area. Among them are Taita falcon, which breeds in the park; African pitta, which is quite elusive; Africa broadbill; Livingstone’s flycatcher and African emerald cuckoo, among others.
2. Gonarezhou National Park
Located in the remote area of Masvingo Province, this is another Zimbabwean wilderness that provides an arresting adventure for visitors. The park is large—it has a land area of 5,053 square kilometers (1.2 million acres), which makes it the second-largest park in the country.
Gonarezhou is Shona for “The Place of Elephants.” So, of course, visitors will expect a parade of elephants in this park. But there are also other animals around like Cape buffalo, cheetahs, giraffes, hippopotamuses, hyena, leopard, lion, wildebeests, white rhinoceroses, and zebras. There was also a time when there was an abundance of Cape wild dogs in the area. This animal has since become endangered and is rarely spotted in the park.
There is more to this park than just its exciting wildlife. Among the famous park, attractions are the Chilojo Cliffs, which makes for an exciting hiking destination and a great viewpoint for a panoramic vista of the park. The sandstone structures also run some 20 kilometers along the Runde River. Another landform in the park is the Naymtongwe Plateau, which is a remnant of the Chilojo Cliffs.
3. Kazuma Pan National Park
Standing on the Botswana border, this park is in the extreme northwestern area of Zimbabwe. The park is mostly just a vast plain with grasses and bushes that are typical of pristine wilderness. Since it is near the border with Botswana, the wildlife freely crosses both countries. The Big five is present in the park along with the following: common elands, gemsboks, roan and sable antelopes, southern giraffes, southern reedbuck, tsessebe, and zebras. There are a few African wild dogs and cheetahs around, but they are quite rare. The oribi, which is a small antelope, is quite abundant in the park, even if this is quite rare in the entire country.
4. Mana Pools National Park
The park is generally a floodplain where rain creates a large lake within the territory, which is located in the lower region of the Zambezi River. The park’s name Mana means “four,” which is about the four pools that formed in the park due to the abundance of water from the Zambezi. These pools were considered a Ramsar Wetland of importance. The park is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The park was supposed to protect a large population of eastern black rhinoceros. There were about 500 of these rhinoceros within the park in 1984. However, 10 years later, there were only 10 of them left due to rampant poaching. The remaining rhinos were transferred to another area where they could be better protected. There are still other important animals left in the park. These are brown hyenas, Cape buffaloes, Cape wild dogs, cheetahs, elephants, leopards, lions, and zebras. The park also hosts the largest population of hippopotamuses and crocodiles in the entire country.
5. Zambezi National Park
This park could have been part of the Victoria Falls National Park, which is the most popular among the national parks in Zimbabwe. It is, after all, located upstream of the falls. But a road separates this park, which features Zambezian and mopane woodlands.
Only the rhinoceros is not present in this park among the Big five. Aside from that, there are herds of common eland, common zebra, impala, greater kudu, sable antelope, southern giraffe, and waterbuck. There are also over 400 species of birds documented in this park.