Nyanga Highlands

The Eastern Highlands, comprising the Nyanga, Bvumba, and Chimanimani mountains alongside smaller ranges, adorn Zimbabwe’s Manicaland province.

The Eastern Highlands, comprising the Nyanga, Bvumba, and Chimanimani mountains alongside smaller ranges, adorn Zimbabwe’s Manicaland province. Spanning about 300 kilometers (190 miles), these highlands feature expansive grasslands, woodlands, and forests. Our first destination within the Eastern Highlands is the grasslands of the Nyanga mountains. Home to Mount Nyangani, Zimbabwe’s highest peak, and the breathtaking Mutarazi Falls, this area forms part of the Nyanga National Park established in 1926. Covering 472 km2 (182 sq mi), the park boasts rolling montane grassland, rainforest, rivers, and historical and cultural sites, offering a diverse landscape for exploration.

The northern expanse of the highlands, is a vital segment of the globally significant Eastern Zimbabwe Mountains Endemic Bird Area (EBA). This region houses a multitude of near-endemic species and contributes substantially to Zimbabwe’s Important Bird Areas (IBAs), with eight IBAs nestled within the Eastern Highlands, including the Nyanga Mountains, Honde Valley, and Bvumba Highlands among others.

The most sought-after bird specialties are the Blue Swallow, Chirinda Apalis, and the orientalis subspecies of Black Saw-wing, Scarce and Mottled Swift, Stripe-cheeked Greenbul, Barratt’s and Roberts’s Warbler, Bronzy Sunbird, Gurney’s Sugarbird, Red-faced Crimsonwing and Singing CisticolaCrowned, Verreaux’s, and Long-crested Eagle, Augur Buzzard, Peregrine and Lanner Falcon, Pallid Harrier, Eurasian Hobby, and Rufous-breasted Sparrowhaw, Livingstone’s Turaco, Orange Ground Thrush, Whyte’s Barbet, and Yellow-streaked Greenbul, Olive Bushshrike, Red-capped and Cape Robin-chat, African Yellow Warbler.

Birding aside, the Eastern Highlands promise excitement for naturalists. The area hosts rare and range-restricted fauna like the Blue Duiker, Blue Monkey, Leopard, and other mammals, along with intriguing reptile species such as the Gaboon Viper, Forest Cobra, and Green Mamba.