Private5 days
Mountains, Mist & Ancient Stone
The Eastern Highlands through to Great Zimbabwe
From $2,300 per person
View this trip
Zimbabwe · Highlands
Eastern Highlands
Misty mountains, ancient forests, and the cool, green Zimbabwe most travellers don’t know exists.
The Eastern Highlands are the Zimbabwe nobody expects: cool mountain air, ancient forest, waterfalls, and tea estates rolling along the Mozambique border.
Mount Nyangani reaches 2,592 metres, Zimbabwe’s highest point; Mutarazi Falls drops 762 metres and is the country’s highest waterfall. Chimanimani’s quartzite peaks and the Honde Valley’s tea and coffee country add a very different landscape to a Zimbabwe route.
“When the bush gets too hot, this is where Zimbabweans go. Cool air, mountain trails, and trout for breakfast.”
Best May–October 2 experiences Nyangani · Chimanimani
Recommended trips
Start with these two.
The Highlands earn their nights as the cool counterweight to the bush. Two routes carry them.
Private10 days
Zimbabwe Highlands, Great Zimbabwe, Matobo & Hwange
Rhinos, mountains, stone cities and elephants — overland
From $6,800 per person
View this tripLooking for something different? View all 2 Eastern Highlands trips →
Guest review
What guests say about Eastern Highlands.
A named guest, a real trip and a travel date.
I came to Zimbabwe expecting Big Five and dust. I left wanting to come back for the Highlands. Honde Valley alone is worth a week.
Maria & Tomás
Lisbon · 8-night Zimbabwe circuit, October 2025
Why ZimTravellers
One person plans your trip. He lives here.
ZimTravellers is not a call centre. Josh Elliott — fifth-generation Zimbabwean, owner of Matobo Hills Lodge — writes every itinerary himself, drives these roads, and answers every email within one working day. That changes what a trip here can be.
One local point of contact
You plan directly with Josh from first enquiry to the trip itself — one point of contact, whether the day is run by our own team or a hand-picked local operator.
Generations deep
Five generations in Zimbabwe. The guides, the border posts, the fuel stops — known first-hand, not from a supplier manual.
Direct WhatsApp line
WhatsApp Josh before, during and after the trip. Office hours Mon–Fri 08:00–17:00 and Sat 09:00–13:00 CAT — replies within one working day.
Stories, not schedules
Routes built around what you want from the country — not a fixed departure sheet with your name added.
Tell Josh what you’d want from a few days in Eastern Highlands and he’ll write you a route. No template, no commission desk.
Make an enquirySignature experiences
What Eastern Highlands does best.
Eastern Highlands
Mt Nyangani
Zimbabwe's highest peak — 2,592m. The summit hike takes a fit walker about three hours up.
Eastern Highlands
Mutarazi Falls
Zimbabwe’s highest waterfall, with a recorded drop of 762 metres; nearby activities operate subject to weather and current access.
Eastern Highlands
Chimanimani
Pristine wilderness on the Mozambique border. Multi-day trails through quartzite peaks.
Eastern Highlands
Honde Valley
Tea estates, boutique coffee farms, and a frontier-feeling drop into Mozambique below.
Recommended accommodation
Where we stay in Eastern Highlands.
A short planning list, not a price promise. We confirm the right property, room and current rate for your dates before you commit.
Eastern Highlands
Leopard Rock Hotel
Eastern Highlands stay · availability and current rate confirmed before your proposal.
Ask Josh about this stay →Eastern Highlands
Troutbeck Resort
Eastern Highlands stay · availability and current rate confirmed before your proposal.
Ask Josh about this stay →Eastern Highlands
Chimanimani Hotel
Eastern Highlands stay · availability and current rate confirmed before your proposal.
Ask Josh about this stay →
Speak to Josh
Plan your Eastern Highlands trip.
Tell me your dates, your party, and what you want from Eastern Highlands. I’ll reply with a route and honest advice on what to skip.
Make an enquiry
WhatsApp Josh
+263 77 587 6661 · Mon–Fri 08:00–17:00 · Sat 09:00–13:00 CAT · Closed Sundays & public holidays
“I answer every email here personally — within one working day.”
Ways to travel
How do you want to do this?
Tailor-made
Your dates, your pace, your rooms. Josh writes the route from scratch around what you want from the country — most guests travel this way.
On the map
The eastern border, in the mountains.
Drive from Harare: three and a half hours to Nyanga, four to the Bvumba, five to Chimanimani. The roads are good and the drive is part of the point.
- Combine with HarareExplore trips →
- Combine with Great ZimbabweExplore trips →
- Combine with HwangeExplore trips →
Every marker is a link — tap a region to open its page. Hold Ctrl (⌘ on Mac) and scroll, or use the buttons, to zoom.
When to travel
Twelve months in the mist.
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● Peak◐ Shoulder○ Green season
May–October — clear and dry. The hiking season. Summit views at their sharpest, cold mornings, bright days.
November–April — the rains. The mountains go impossibly green, the falls run at full height, and some trails close.
All trips
Every Eastern Highlands experience.
10 Days · Private (max 8 guests)
Zimbabwe Highlands, Great Zimbabwe, Matobo & Hwange
Rhinos, mountains, stone cities and elephants — overland
From $6,800 ppView trip →
5 Days · Private (max 8 guests)
Mountains, Mist & Ancient Stone
The Eastern Highlands through to Great Zimbabwe
From $2,300 ppView trip →
No trips match those filters here — tell Josh what you’re after and he’ll build it.
Frequently asked
Eastern Highlands, answered.
Yes. The hiking trails are well-trodden; the towns are friendly. We arrange transfers and licensed guides for any walks beyond a half-day.
Absolutely — and we recommend it. A common pairing: 2 nights Hwange, 3 nights Eastern Highlands, 2 nights Mana Pools. Three landscapes, one country.
Reasonably fit. The summit hike is 3 hours up, 2 down. Mostly steady gradient with some scrambling at the top. We send a guide and a packed lunch.
Better than most travellers expect. Trout from local rivers, vegetables grown on tea estates, real coffee from Honde Valley. Chimanimani has a small but serious foodie circuit.
Mutarazi looks most spectacular in March-May, just after the rains, when flow is at its peak. The skywalk operates year-round, weather permitting.
Plan your trip
The cool, green other Zimbabwe.
Tell Josh your dates and your party. You’ll get a route, straight answers, and a reply within one working day.