Matobo (attraction)

Fast Facts

• Location:Approximately 50 km south of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe.
• Attraction Type: National park
• Significance: A UNESCO World Heritage site famous for its rock paintings
• Best Time to Visit: May to October
• Visiting Hours: Daytime
• How to Reach: By road from Bulawayo
• Nearest International Airport: Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport, Bulawayo

Matobo National Park is an amazing landscape of granite boulders located about 50 km from Bulawayo. Matobo National Park in Zimbabwe was initially named 'Sindebele', meaning 'bald heads', by Mzilikazi, a local warrior chief. The landscape is stunning with cracks and crevices, which even go down to the bedrock level, created by agents of erosion over millennia. In addition to its breathtaking landscape, Matobo is also renowned for its inimitable cave paintings. 

the ancient granite formations of the Matobo Hills, situated about 20 minutes by car from Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, are of great historical and spiritual significance, with art and artifacts dating back thousands of years.

No one can visit the Matobo Hills and stay unaffected by their brooding majesty. Situated in the heart of Matabelaland in Zimbabwe, these hills have long been the scene of ceremonies and rituals. Mzilikazi, founder of the Ndebele nation, gave the area its name. Apparently the smooth granite boulders reminded him of a gathering of his old indunas and he called the area amaTobo, “the bald heads”. Mzilikazi is interred here in a hillside tomb. His possessions, including wagons and furniture, have been sealed for over a century in a cave nearby, and visitors can view this fascinating collection through small openings in the rocks.

One of the most bizarre attractions of the Matobo Hills is the lizard feeding that takes place here at World’s View. A ranger, holding out a small piece of cooked maize meal, or sadza, calls out to the rocks. Then, from underneath various boulders, scores of rainbow-hued lizards appear and race across the rocks and even clamber over the ranger to get their share. This spectacle occurs three times a day and is not to be missed.