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Great Zimbabwe and Wild Gonarezhou
Masvingo Province: History & Culture
Masvingo Province is home to Great Zimbabwe, settled from about 1000 AD and capital of the Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe from the 13th century. Built dry-stone, without mortar, by ancestors of the Shona, it is the largest stone structure in precolonial Southern Africa. UNESCO inscribed it in 1986, and its soapstone bird sculptures appear on Zimbabwe’s flag. Fort Victoria, founded in 1890 as the first large settlement of the Pioneer Column, is Zimbabwe’s oldest town. The province took the name Masvingo in 1982. Gonarezhou, protected as a game reserve since 1936, adds a wildlife chapter.
Photo: Graph Geo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Great Zimbabwe National Monument; Gonarezhou National Park; Chilojo Cliffs; Lake Mutirikwi (Lake Kyle)
Heritage & Landmarks
UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986; precolonial stone city
Zimbabwe's second-largest national park, 5,053 km²; 'Place of Elephants'
Sandstone cliffs 180 m high, stretching about 20 km along the Runde River
Kyle Dam reservoir built in 1960; about 90 km² of water near Masvingo
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