You are here: Our Africa › Zimbabwe › Zimbabwe map

Zimbabwe

A - Z of topics…

Zimbabwe has many national parks and areas of outstanding beauty, such as the famous Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world. Find out what attracts visitors to these parks or to Zimbabwe's key cities, both ancient (Great Zimbabwe and Khami) and modern (Harare and Bulawayo).

Games & Sports

Africa is home to arguably the oldest-recorded games and sports. While some are only known through archeology, modern-day games and sports such as Mancala/Mankala and Nubian wrestling are very much alive today.

Of course, new sports have come along to claim the attention of Africans. You may have heard of one - it's called football.

South Africa Map: Explore South Africa

Explore a map of South Africa. Find out more about the most important places in South Africa

State of Children

Around one in six children born in sub-Saharan Africa don't live to see their fifth birthday and life can be tough for those who do.

What are the common challenges facing African children and how do their lives compare with those of children in the UK?

Great Zimbabwe National Monument: The ruins of a key city in the Great Zimbabwe empire lie 30km south-east from Masvingo. This once-great city was a major trading centre of Great Zimbabwe between the 11th–15th centuries. The remains of its medieval stone houses cover an area of 80 hectares and suggest the city’s population exceeded 10,000 inhabitants, before it was abandoned in the 15th century.

Namibia map: Explore Namibia

Find out more about Namibia’s unique conservation areas and the history behind some of its towns and cities.

Botswana Map: Explore Botswana

Find out more about some of Botswana’s key attractions, such as the Okavando Delta as well as other areas of interest including Botswana’s capital city, Gaborone.

Harare: Located on the central plateau, the capital of Zimbabwe has an estimated population of 1.6 million. Laid out with wide avenues lined with flowering trees such as jacaranda, Harare also has a number of large open spaces and parks, such as the National Botanic Garden. Other notable institutions located in the city include the National Gallery and the Queen Victoria Museum and National Library.

Khami Ruins: Lying to the west of the Khami River and near to the dam, this important archaeological site is the remains of a large city, which thrived until the 16th/17th century. The discovery of artefacts from China and Europe show that Khami was a major trading centre in the region.

Foods: Africa has some of the most distinctive cuisines and flavours in the world. Food varies widely, but there are commonalities across regions. Depending on what's grown locally, dishes are also influenced by the traders, immigrants and rulers who settled across the continent. Arab, Asian and European elements blend in with traditional African cooking.

Bulawayo: Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe and has a long military history, with many battles fought there. Indeed, its location was chosen by King Lobengula (in the 19th century) on the site of his major battle as heir to the throne (‘bulawayo’ means ‘place of killing’). Close to South Africa, in modern times the city developed as a base for industry.

Climate: Africa is a massive continent, with a range of climates. Some regions are hot and dry, like the Sahara, Kalahari and Namib deserts. Other parts are wet or covered in tropical rainforest. Conditions also vary by altitude, from the dry salt pans of the Danakil Depression (one of the lowest points on earth) to the snowcaps (at certain times) of the highest mountains. Weather-wise, Africa has it all!

Development

‘People are the real wealth of a nation.’ This is the belief of the United Nations, whose Millenium Development Goals provide a framework for improving the lives of millions.

It helps when nations are peaceful, stable and growing economically. But even where the poorest countries focus on health, education and creating fairer societies, more Africans have the chance of a better life.

Hwange National Park: Hwange National Park is the largest in the country, occupying an area of around 14,650 square kilometres. An hour south of the Victoria Falls, the park attracts visitors because of its wide range of wildlife – over 400 species of bird and 100 species of mammals, including one of the largest elephant populations in the world.

Famine & Agriculture

A quarter of the population of sub-Saharan Africa is undernourished and famines can impact whole regions.

Land is available to grow more food locally. But investment is needed in technologies such as irrigation, for land to be used effectively. Farmers must also adapt to climate change if they are to feed the continent's rising population.

Gonarezhou National Park: Meaning the ‘place of many elephants’, Gonarezhou is home to hundreds of species of birds, mammals and fish. Many animals are drawn by the pools and drinking places provided by the Save, Runde and Mwenezi rivers which run through the park. Wildlife is further being encouraged by the creation of a huge migration territory between countries; fences are being removed to allow the linking of Gonarezhou to South Africa’s Kruger National Park and Mozambique’s Limpopo; together these will form the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. In Zimbabwe, the Manjinji Pan Sanctuary, Malipati Safari Area and Sengwe communal land will also be included.

Mana Pools National Park: This National Park is named after four pools (‘Mana’ means ‘four’ in Shona). These are the remnants of ox-bow lakes carved out by the Zambezi river thousands of years ago before it changed course. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Park is home to over 350 bird species and a huge number of animals, including elephants, buffalo, leopards, cheetahs and Nile crocodiles. To the east of the park, the Sapi and Chewore Safari Areas are vast wilderness expanses along the Zambezi. To the north of Chewore, the Zambezi river runs through the 30 kilometres long Mupata Gorge.

Health

Africa has a high number of communicable diseases, which place a huge burden on healthcare systems. The vast majority of malaria cases and HIV/AIDS-related deaths occur in Africa; these two diseases currently represent the greatest threats.

With low investment in healthcare and a severe shortage of medical staff, many countries struggle to meet the health needs of their people.

War and Empire

The first humans are thought to have lived in Africa and powerful African empires formed from the medieval age onwards.

However, today's African nations were shaped by the European powers who colonised this vast continent. Having gained their independence, many African countries are still coming to terms with the legacy left by their colonisers.

Mount Nyangani: Lying along the border with Mozambique, Mount Nyangani (formerly Mount Inyangani) is the country’s highest peak at 2592 metres. The mountain lies within the High Veld ridge which stretches from the southwest to the northeast and occupies around a quarter of the country.

Poverty

Across the rest of the world, absolute poverty has halved over recent decades, but in Africa it has barely fallen.

About two-fifths of the population of sub-Saharan Africa survive week by week on what someone in the UK earns from just one hour's work on the minimum wage.

Victoria Falls: Victoria Falls is one of the natural wonders of the world and a UNESCO heritage site. Known locally as ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’ – meaning ‘the smoke that thunders’ – the falls were named after Queen Victoria by the British discoverer David Livingstone.

Mozambique map: Explore Mozambique

Visitors to Mozambique often stay along the country’s coastline, which boasts some of the country’s key attractions. But you’ll see from the map there are also many places of interest inland.

Matobo Hills & National Park: Matobo (meaning ‘bald heads’) Hills are a range of domes, spires and rock formations created through millions of years of weathering. The overhanging rocks were used as shelters by Stone Age man, who left many paintings here. Cecil John Rhodes [see History & Politics] is buried on Malindidzimu (‘hill of benevolent spirits’), which he said had a ‘view of the world’.

Zambia Map: Explore Zambia

Find out about some key places in Zambia, such as Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

Zimbabwe

Explore South Africa

Explore Namibia

Explore Botswana

Explore Mozambique

Explore Zambia