Gonarezhou National Park, in Zimbabwe’s South-East Lowveld, covers just more than 5 000 km² of some of the most spectacular scenery in the region incorporating the iconic Chilojo Cliffs, wide meandering rivers and extensive woodlands. Widely known for its unique wilderness character, the Park’s reputation as a premier destination for quality wildlife sightings is also growing. Home to about 11 000 elephants, this wildlife national park truly deserves its vernacular name as ‘Place of Elephants’.
Owing to its vast size, rugged terrain and its location away from main tourist routes, large tracts of this wildlife reserve remain as pristine wilderness. At 5,053 km² it is the Zimbabwe’s second-largest game reserve after Hwange National Park. Gonarezhou is a Shona name meaning “elephant’s tusk.” It forms part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links it with the Kruger National Park in South Africa and the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique. Animals can move freely between the three sanctuaries. The park is a protected area drawn up between the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA), and the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS). Established on the background of a strong and long standing relationship developed over 9 years of support by FZS for Gonarezhou, the Trust is directly responsible for management of Gonarezhou for a period of 20 years, and became fully operational on 1st March 2017.
Our four top lodge picks in Gonarezhou include Chapungu Camp, Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge, Chilo Gorge Tented Camp and Pamushana Lodge. Gonarezhou is certainly an excellent destination for those wanting to escape the usual crowds and experience Zimbabwe at it rawest. We have visited all these lodges over the years and we always look forward to visiting again to give you the best recommendations.
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