Great Zimbabwe

It is a wonderful place, best when you go there to take loads of sun block, wear comfortable walking shoes and cool clothing. I was born in Zimbabwe and lived there for the first 20 years of my life. Moved to England in 2001. It is definatly worth a visit.

I went in 2003, so maybe it’s changed, but there weren’t interpretive displays or anything like that. There aren’t even park rangers to make sure visitors don’t screw stuff up. Just these huge ruins to explore, one high up looking down over the other. Enormous rocks, blind passages, mildly strenuous climbs, and hordes of vervet monkeys near the parking area. I highly recommend it.

I visited here while studying abroad in Harare. At the time the highlight of the trip were all the wild monkeys! Now I can appreciate it for the cultural mysteries it holds and its importance ot the Shona people. It was very cool walking among the ruins trying to imagine it as someone who lived there would have seen it: as a bustling city that they would have called home.