Zimbabwe gives you two UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the same river. Victoria Falls, shared with Zambia, sits on the Zambezi in the far west, and downstream the river runs past Mana Pools, a floodplain park known for walking and canoeing with professional guides. In between is Lake Kariba, one of the largest man-made lakes in the world.
South-east of the falls is Hwange, the country's largest national park at about 14,600 km². It is dry Kalahari-sand country of teak woodland, grassland and pans, and in the dry season the elephant and buffalo herds there gather around waterholes, many of them topped up with pumped groundwater.
Most trips start at Victoria Falls Airport and move between camps by light aircraft. A common route is a few nights at the falls, then Hwange, then Mana Pools or Lake Kariba, with Harare as the other main gateway. Camps are small, and the good ones book up early for the dry season.
A good Zimbabwe safari depends on matching each camp to the month you travel and to what you want to do there, whether that is walking, sitting in a hide, being out on the water or game drives. We help you choose camps, rooms and routing, book the camps, light-aircraft flights and local operators, and are your point of contact before and during the trip, including the luggage limits, seasonal closures, park fees and border crossings that tend to trip people up.
As Fora advisors, we can often add perks through Fora’s partner programs, including Virtuoso and Fora Reserve, such as a property credit, a welcome amenity or an upgrade when one is free, at many properties where available.
Zimbabwe's parks have been through hard times, and some of the best conservation news in the region is coming from here now.
Zimbabwe has a dry winter, a hot build-up, and summer rains.
Clear days and cold mornings, and the easiest weather for walking. As the bush thins and pans dry out, animals gather around permanent water. This is the busiest time in the safari areas.
The hottest, driest weeks of the year, when wildlife is most concentrated at water. Victoria Falls is at its lowest flow around November, and much of the Zambian side can be dry.
Rain turns the country green, many antelope have young, and migrant birds arrive. Several Mana Pools camps close for these months. Victoria Falls rises through the season and usually peaks around April, when the spray can hide much of the view.
Lake Kariba is a huge reservoir on the Zambezi between Zimbabwe and Zambia, and Matusadona National Park runs along its southern shore. Days mix boat trips, fishing for tigerfish and game drives, and the park is in the middle of a recovery that brought back wild dogs and black rhino in 2026.
The Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls has the longer run of viewpoints, with a path through spray-fed rainforest facing most of the falls. The town is the main safari gateway, with an international airport, historic and modern hotels, and easy connections to Hwange, Zambia and Botswana.
Hwange is Zimbabwe's largest national park, about 14,600 km² of Kalahari sand, teak woodland and open grassland in the country's north-west. Huge elephant and buffalo herds gather at its waterholes in the dry season, and the private south-eastern concessions add ground-level hides and nights on sleep-out platforms.
Mana Pools sits on the south bank of the Zambezi in northern Zimbabwe, opposite Zambia's Lower Zambezi. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for walking with professional guides, canoeing past elephants and hippos, and good odds of seeing African wild dogs in the dry season.
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