Chimanimani

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View of the National Park area from just behind Chimanimani village stores, whose roofs can be seen in the foreground

Chimanimani (known as Melsetter 1895–1982) is a mountainous area in the province of Manicaland, eastern Zimbabwe. The area is the southernmost section of the Eastern Highlands, 150 km (93 mi) from the town of Mutare, and much of it constitutes a National Park. The region is distinguished by large volcanic peaks, the highest reaching to 2440 m (8005 ft) and stretching for some 50 km (31 mi), forming the border with Mozambique. Between the village of Chimanimani and the border the ranges are the more gentle and rounded.

1 Chimanimani mountains
2 Chimanimani village
3 Further reading
4 External links

[edit] Chimanimani mountains

Much of the range is composed of sandstone ridges, with Mt Binga at 2440m the highest point near the border with Mozambique. Chimanimani is one of Zimbabwe's finest mountain wilderness areas and a very popular hiking destination. Close to the town are the scenic Bridal Veil Falls. Nearby is Chirundu forest, Africa’s southernmost tropical rainforest, harbouring strelitzias, wild orchids, tree ferns, cycads and rare trees. The forest is also home to the 1000-year-old Big Tree, a red mahogany (Khaya anthotheca) nearly 70m high and 16m around. There is also an arboretum near the village.

The Chimanimani area was a no-go area during the Zimbabwean independence war and land mines were a real hazard in the area until very recently, particularly after heavy rain. Mountain passes in the area were frequently taken by guerilla fighters between Zimbabwe and their camps in Mozambique, so these were heavily mined by the Rhodesian forces.

[edit] Chimanimani village

The village of Chimanimani was founded by Thomas Moodie in 1892 and in 1895 it was moved to its current site and was officially called Melsetter after Moodie's family home in Scotland. The name was changed in 1982, after Zimbabwean independence (1980). According to the 1982 Population Census, the village has a population of 1,370. The village had a tourist office, a bank, grocery, curio shops and the faded colonial Chimanimani Arms Hotel. In 1995 it also had a travellers' hostel called Heaven, with a permaculture smallholding, which was a popular source of employment in the village.

An African music and arts festival was organised each year around Easter, but as of 2006 has had to be discontinued due to the political situation in Zimbabwe.

[edit] Further reading

Peter, Godwin (1996). Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa. UK: Picador. ISBN 0-330-33983-4. Childhood of a white country doctor's son in the Chimanimani area in the 1960s, and beginnings of the Second Chimurenga (civil war).