Zimbawbe, the land of untold stories
Location: landlocked by 5 countries located between the Zambezi river and the Limpopo river, in the southern African savannah. On the north, across the Zambezi, Zimbabwe shares the border with Zambia, on the east, it shares the beautiful Bvumba Mountains with Mozambique, on the south, the Limpopo river separates it from South Africa and on the west, Zimbabwe shares the north-east end of the Kalahari with Botswana.
- Area: covers a total area of 390,757 square kilometers (150,872 square miles), roughly calculate 10 times bigger than Belgium, 9 percent larger than Germany and 1.4 smaller than France
- Capital: Harare
- International airports: Harare and Victoria Falls
- Official national language: Engels, Shona, Ndebele
- Population: 15,5 million (2023)
- Currency: USD, make sure you have enough cash with you. Credit cards are accepted in most lodges, shops and restaurants. In the cities you can withdraw money.. if the ATM is working.
- Travel formalities: international passport valid for 6 months after return + visa is required and available on arrival, single entry USD 30 (only cash!)
- Health: no vaccinations required, no risk of yellow fever. There is a significant malaria risk in certain parts of the country and only during the rainy season. Read on for more information. Hospitals are present in the most major cities.
- Power: 240V, 50Hz, sockets type D/G. Get an adaptor.
- Time difference: Belgian summer: none, Belgian winter +1 hour (GMT +2)
- Climate: Zimbabwe enjoys a pleasant temperate to tropical climate year-round, average savannah climate. The seasons are opposite to yours in Europe. In winter (April-August) is mostly moderate dry and sunny with colder nights. In summer (September-May) short, powerful thunderstorms can occur. October is the hottest month. The rainy season runs from November to March, hot and wet. But here too, global warming is leaving its mark. During the rainy season there is a lot of food for the animals and they do not have to move to survive. The landscape becomes green and bushy and therefore more difficult to spot animals. October-December is therefore the only least interesting period to travel to Zimbabwe.
The best time to visit depends on which activities you wish to pursue:
- FOR WILDLIFE: to maximise wildlife viewing, the dry winter months of July-October are the best throughout Zimbabwe
- FOR BIRDLIFE: excellent all-year viewing but the summer months are outstanding, it brings a host of migration species
- FOR VICTORIA FALLS: during and after the rains the falls are full and totally awesome (March-June) but massive amounts of thundering spray may restrain your panorama
- FOR WATERSPORTS: the low water levels on the Zambezi river during winter are the best (August-January), at high water is rafting restricted. Boating, canoeing and fishing year-round.
Main national parks (NP) : Hwange, Victoria Falls, Zambezi, Matobo Hills, Chizarira, Matusadona, Mana Pools, Nyanga, Bvumba, Chimanimani and Gonarezhou