Great Zimbabwe
Gran Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe (Lake Mutirikwe area) – located 322 km. south of Harare, this is the ruined city (near the town of Masvingo) which contains stone sculptures that were built in stages between 800 and 1500 A.D. by the ancestors of the Shona, one of Zimbabwe’s many Bantu-speaking groups.
The ruins cover nearly 1,800 acres and can be divided into three distinct architectural groupings known as the Hill Complex, the Valley Complex, and the Great Enclosure. At its apogee in the late fourteenth century, Great Zimbabwe may have had as many as 18,000 inhabitants. It was one of some 300 known stone enclosure sites on the Zimbabwe Plateau. In Bantu, “Zimbabwe” means “sacred house” or “ritual seat of a king.” An important trading center and capital of the medieval Zimbabwe state, the city controlled much of interior southeast Africa for nearly two centuries. The first Europeans who were said to have encountered Great Zimbabwe’s ruins were Portuguese explorers, who trekked through that part of the country during the 16th century — presumably from nearby Mozambique (which by that time already had Portuguese trading posts on its coastline).
Harare Gardens (Harare) — Harare Gardens, the city’s largest park, is a haven from the city bustle just a few blocks south, and a favorite spot for wedding photos and romantic couples. Look for the island-like stand of rainforest with its miniature Victoria Falls and Zambezi Gorge.