Where to Go
Six very different parks across two circuits. Compare them side by side, then choose by what you want to do rather than by size.
The national parks in Zimbabwe are best chosen by what you want to do rather than by size. Hwange is the country’s giant, at about 14,650 km², and the place for big elephant herds at pumped waterholes. Mana Pools is a fraction of that size but the place to walk among wildlife on a Zambezi floodplain. Matobo is smaller still, and the one park on our routes where tracking rhino on foot is routine.
This page compares them side by side, shows how they link into two circuits and points you to each park’s own guide for the detail. If you are deciding between the two headline parks, the Hwange and Mana Pools comparison below is the place to start.
Two Circuits
Most journeys follow one of two routes. The northwest circuit links Victoria Falls, Hwange, Lake Kariba and Mana Pools, mostly by light aircraft. The southern circuit links the Matobo Hills, Great Zimbabwe and Gonarezhou, mostly by road. The two join most easily through Bulawayo, about 306 km by road from Hwange’s Main Camp.
Approximate locations — not for navigation.
At a Glance
| Park | Size | Signature experience | Best months | Access | Nights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria Falls & Zambezi NP | ≈23 km² (falls park); ≈560 km² with Zambezi NP | The rainforest walk facing the falls, river cruises, game drives upstream | Year-round; June–August balances flow and view | Victoria Falls Airport, about 20 km from town | 2–3 |
| Hwange | ≈14,650 km² | Elephant herds at pumped pans, painted dogs, walks in private concessions | July–October | About 2.5–3 hours by road from the falls, or light aircraft | 3–4 |
| Lake Kariba & Matusadona | Lake ≈5,580 km²; Matusadona ≈1,470 km² | Boat-based game viewing, houseboats, drowned-forest sunsets | August–October on the shoreline | Light aircraft to Kariba or lakeshore strips | 2–3 |
| Mana Pools | ≈2,196 km² | Walking on the floodplain, canoeing the Zambezi, Chitake Springs | June–October; most camps closed in the rains | Light aircraft from Harare, Kariba, Hwange or Victoria Falls | 3–5 |
| Matobo | ≈424 km² inside the wider UNESCO-listed Matobo Hills | Rhino tracking on foot, ancient rock art, granite kopjes | Year-round; May–September most comfortable | About 30 km by road from Bulawayo | 2–3 |
| Gonarezhou | ≈5,053 km² | The Chilojo Cliffs, big elephant herds and near-total solitude | May–October; closed 10 January–1 March | By road via Chiredzi, or charter to Buffalo Range | 3–4 |
Sizes are widely published approximations from ZimParks, UNESCO, African Parks and the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust.
Where to Go
Start with what you most want from the trip, then let the park follow.
Open floodplain under apple-ring acacias, where walking with a professional guide is the main event rather than an add-on. Canoeing and a remote dry-season spring deepen it further.
Explore →Zimbabwe’s largest park and its largest elephant population, drawn in the dry season to pans kept full by solar-powered boreholes. The easiest big-game park for a first safari.
Explore →Granite hills near Bulawayo where you track rhino on foot with an armed ZimParks scout, then visit painted shelters thousands of years old.
Explore →A vast lake with houseboats, drowned forests and the recovering Matusadona National Park on its southern shore. The natural pause between Hwange and Mana Pools.
Explore →The remote southeast, with sandstone cliffs above the Runde River, large elephant herds and very few other vehicles. Best for returning travelers.
Explore →The start or finish of most Zimbabwe trips, with the rainforest walk, sunset cruises and game drives in Zambezi National Park just upstream.
Explore →Head to Head
The most common either-or in Zimbabwe. Both are superb; they are simply different safaris, and with eight nights or more you can have both.
| Hwange | Mana Pools | |
|---|---|---|
| Landscape | Kalahari-sand teak woodland, open vleis and pumped pans | Zambezi floodplain under albida and mahogany, backed by the escarpment |
| How you explore | Mostly by vehicle at the waterholes, with walks in private concessions | Mostly on foot, with canoe paddles and drives |
| Wildlife strengths | Big elephant herds, buffalo, lion, sable and roan, painted dogs | Elephant, buffalo, lion, wild dog and hippo at close range; no rhino |
| Season | Open all year; best July–October | Most camps open about April or May to November; best June–October |
| Getting there | Road from Victoria Falls or a short flight | Light aircraft in practice |
| Heat | Hot by October | Very hot from October, often in camps without air-conditioning |
| Ages and fitness | Family-friendly lodges and exclusive-use houses; gentle pace | Walking minimums vary by camp; canoe trail from age 14 |
| Best for | First safaris, photographers, families | Returning travelers, walkers, photographers who like to be on foot |
Our View
If it is your first safari and you can choose only one, Hwange is the surer bet: vehicle-based viewing at the pans is reliable, it connects easily to Victoria Falls by road, and the lodges suit a wider range of ages. If you have been on safari before and want to feel the landscape under your feet, Mana Pools is the one people talk about for years afterwards.
With eight nights or more, the answer is usually both, with Lake Kariba as the natural stop between them. The 12-day grand safari links all three by air, with four nights in Mana Pools.
Beyond the Main Six
Joined to Victoria Falls National Park upstream of the falls, with about 40 km of river frontage. Game drives and riverside lodges here add wildlife to a falls stay; four of the Big Five occur, but not rhino.
Explore →At about 1,910 km², Zimbabwe’s fourth-largest park sits on the Zambezi escarpment south of Lake Kariba, with deep gorges, roan antelope and the rare Taita falcon. Access is long and camps are few, so it suits experienced walkers who value solitude over convenience.
A private wildlife reserve bordering Gonarezhou, best known for one ultra-luxury lodge and private-reserve game drives. The most comfortable way to see Zimbabwe’s southeast.
Explore →Mountains, waterfalls and cool air along the Mozambique border. Lovely for walking and a change of scene, but not a Big Five safari area, so we treat it as an add-on rather than a wildlife destination.
Conservation
ZimParks, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, manages the national park estate and sets the conservation fees you pay. In two parks it works with long-term partners. African Parks has co-managed Matusadona on Lake Kariba under a 20-year agreement since November 2019, and in 2026 brought in 20 painted dogs in February and black rhino in June. Gonarezhou has been run since 1 March 2017 by the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust, a partnership between ZimParks and the Frankfurt Zoological Society.
Elsewhere, non-profits fill specific gaps. Friends of Hwange keeps solar-powered borehole pumps running so pans hold water through the dry season, increasingly with batteries so pumps can run at night. Painted Dog Conservation, based at Dete on Hwange’s edge, works to protect Zimbabwe’s roughly 700 painted dogs, and its centre is an easy visit from Hwange. When we plan your route, we look for camps and guides that work alongside these organisations; our responsible travel page explains how we think about it.
Putting Parks Together
How the parks usually combine, from a short falls-and-Hwange trip to the full northwest sweep.
Two nights at the falls and three or four in Hwange, linked by road or a short flight. The classic introduction, and the easiest to fit around time in Botswana or South Africa.
From Hwange, fly on to Mana Pools for walking, or drive via Bulawayo to the Matobo Hills for rhino tracking and rock art. Either gives a short trip real depth.
For returning travelers, a whole journey inside one park: Chitake Springs, the floodplain and the three-night canoe trail. See the Mana Pools walking and canoe safari.
Matobo, Great Zimbabwe and Gonarezhou by road, for rhino, history and solitude, ending with a light-aircraft hop from Buffalo Range. See the southern route through Matobo and Gonarezhou.
Victoria Falls, Hwange, Lake Kariba and four nights in Mana Pools, all linked by air, with a Harare departure. Browse every route on the Zimbabwe itineraries page.
Safaris
Victoria Falls · Hwange National Park · Matusadona · Mana Pools · Harare
Returning or ambitious safari travelers who want Zimbabwe’s full range — falls, big herds, open water and walking — in one private trip
Harare · Chitake Springs · Mana Pools · Chikwenya
Fit, returning safari travelers aged 14 and over who would rather walk and paddle than sit in a vehicle
Bulawayo · Matobo Hills · Great Zimbabwe · Gonarezhou · Buffalo Range Airport
Returning safari travelers and culture-minded couples who want history, rhino on foot and a genuinely remote park
Experiences
On foot
Walk the bush with some of Africa’s most rigorously trained guides, from Mana Pools’ floodplain to the rhino country of Matobo.
On the water
Paddle about 50 km of the Zambezi over three nights, walking ashore by day and sleeping in simple fly-camps beside the river.
Culture
Walk through the stone city that gave Zimbabwe its name, built by Shona ancestors between the 11th and 15th centuries.
Where to go
Zimbabwe’s biggest park: elephant-crowded pans, Kalahari woodland and some of the country’s best walking with professional guides.
ExploreZimbabwe’s walking heartland on the Zambezi: floodplain woodland, elephants among the albidas and camps that open only in the dry season.
Explore
The falls from the bank that faces most of the curtain, with a rainforest walk, river cruises and gorge adventures on the doorstep.
Explore
Zimbabwe’s great lake: private houseboats, drowned-forest sunsets and Matusadona’s rewilding shoreline.
ExploreGranite kopjes, ancient rock art and rhino tracking on foot, a short drive south of Bulawayo.
ExploreRemote southeastern wilderness of red cliffs, sand rivers and elephants, for travelers who want Zimbabwe at its most untouched.
ExploreGood to know
There isn’t one best park, because each does something different. Hwange is the most reliable for big-game viewing by vehicle and suits a first safari, while Mana Pools is the favourite of experienced travelers for walking and canoeing. Matobo is the place for rhino on foot, and Gonarezhou for solitude.
Yes, though rarely all in one park. Lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo occur across the main parks, while rhino are concentrated in protected areas such as Matobo’s Intensive Protection Zone. Mana Pools lost its black rhino in the 1990s, and rhino are not something to count on in Hwange.
Two or three is the comfortable maximum for a week to ten days. Allow three or four nights in Hwange or Mana Pools and two or three at Victoria Falls, Lake Kariba or Matobo. Adding a fourth park usually means more time on flights and roads than in the bush.
For experienced walkers with time, it can be: the escarpment scenery is dramatic and you are likely to have much of it to yourself. Access is long, accommodation is limited and wildlife is thinner than in Hwange or Mana Pools, so it is not a first or second safari park.
Hwange and Lake Kariba are usually the easiest with children, because game viewing is mostly by vehicle or boat, family-friendly lodges and private houseboats exist, and distances are manageable. Mana Pools walking and the canoe trail have age limits, and Matobo’s rhino walks cover rough ground.
Tell us when you can travel, who is coming and whether you picture the falls, a canoe on the Zambezi or rhino tracks in the Matobo Hills. We’ll design a private Zimbabwe journey around it, and nothing is booked until you approve it.
Plan My Zimbabwe Safari