Matabeleland

Matabeleland is a region in the southwest and west of Zimbabwe. It is inhabited by the Ndebele people, who settled here in the mid-1800s.

Cities

• Binga
• 1 Bulawayo
• 2 Victoria Falls

Other destinations

The Mother and Child rock in Matabo.

• 1 Matobo National Park — an UNESCO World Heritage Site
• 2 Hwange National Park — at 14,651 km² the largest national park and game reserve in Zimbabwe.
• 3 Zambezi National Park —

Understand

Southern Matabeleland is for the greater portion of the year hot and dusty.

Baobab trees are common, as are mopani. The grasslands glow in the deep afternoon sun.

Get in

The main border crossing with South Africa is at 1 . National road A4/R1 leads to Harare while A6 is the main road into Matabeleland, linking Bulawayo and Victoria Falls.

See

• See the rock formation at Balla Balla.
• Visit Chipingali Wildlife Orphanage.

Itineraries

The largest town in Matabeleland is Bulawayo, renowned for its wide streets built to allow a wagon with a 10-oxen team to do a U-turn. Bulawayo has an airport, which makes it an ideal starting point. From Bulawayo one can travel south to Matobo for a day's slow drive thru the exotic landscapes, or westward to Khami Ruins, to see miniature versions of the stone ruins found at Great Zimbabwe.

Eat

A local delicacy is the mopani worm: these caterpillars are dried in the sun, and sold as a snack food. The staple food is mealie meal, made into a stiff porridge known as "sadza".