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Home > Matobo National Park


The Matobo or Matopos Hills are an area of granite kopjes and wooded valleys commencing some 35 kilometres south of Bulawayo, southern Zimbabwe. The Hills were formed over 2000 million years ago with granite being forced to the surface, this has eroded to produce smooth "whaleback dwalas" and broken kopjes, strewn with boulders and interspersed with thickets of vegetation. Mzilikazi, founder of the Ndebele nation, gave the area its name, meaning 'Bald Heads'.


The Hills cover an area of about 3100 square kilometres, of which 440 km² is National Park, the remainder being largely communal land and a small proportion of commercial farmland. Part of the National park is set aside as a Game Park, which has been stocked with game including both species of rhino. This covers some 100 km² of beautiful scenery including some spectacular balancing rocks and impressive views along the Mpopoma river Valley.


The Matobo Hills have been included into World Heritage List, according to a release by UNESCO. According to UNESCO, the Matobo Hills had been nominated for inclusion by Zimbabwean authorities. The area "exhibits a profusion of distinctive rock landforms rising above the granite shield that covers much of Zimbabwe".


History

San (Bushmen) lived in the hills about 2,000 years ago, leaving a rich heritage in hundreds of rock paintings. In the many crevices and caves, clay ovens and other historic artefacts have been found.

The hills were the scene of the famous indaba between Cecil Rhodes and Ndebele leaders in 1896. Rhodes and several other leading early white settlers are buried on the summit of Malindidzimu, the 'hill of the spirits'. This mount is also referred to as the World’s View. (Not to be confused with the World's View, Nyanga).


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Matobo National ParkThe Matobo or Matopos Hills are an area of granite kopjes and wooded valleys commencing some 35 kilometres south of Bulawayo, southern Zimbabwe. The Hills were formed over 2000 million years ago with granite being forced to the surface, this has eroded to  


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