Matobo Hills

A place of obvious natural beauty, massive granite whaleback rocks stand eerily sentinel over the hills and valleys that hide a heritage of rich historical significance – from the lingering legacy of bushmen in ancient cave paintings, to the burial ground of a great African empire-builder – Matobo’s past is fascinating to discover.

As voices from the rock seemingly echo over the breezes and in and around every cave and kopjie (small hills), an overwhelming sense of Matobo’s turbulent past, belies the present serenity.

From the Stone Age to recent times these hills have been a place of worship and a place of refuge during rebellion, a hunting ground, burial ground and battleground. Secrets of the past, now silent in the hills, make Matobo a place of intense intrigue for anyone interested in the strife and struggles of Africa.

Here in the hills, by his special request, Africa’s great empire builder, colossus of his age, and one-time Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (South Africa) in 1890, Cecil John Rhodes, lies buried at World’s View. It is a short climb to the vantage point where the grave is positioned with its eternal watch over the wild Matopos hills. Besides the grave there are also monuments here dedicated to the famous Shangani Patrol commemorating the men of the British South Africa Company ambushed and masacred by more than 3,000 Matabele warriors during the First Matabele War in 1893.

Matobo National Park is home to white rhino, many leopards and a wonderful variety of antelope and other plains game species. If you are lucky, you may even spot the endangered black rhino here! 

When to Visit

Open year-round. Winters are particularly cold with temperatures sometimes dropping sub-zero. The cold months begin mid-May through July.

Access

Easily acessed by road transfer, just 30 minutes from Bulawayo.

Activities

Walking, hiking, game driving, horse-back riding, fishing, rock climbing, cycling, birding, rhino tracking, tour of bushman caves, tour of Rhodes Grave Monument, tour of local village.

Accommodation

Tented, & lodges