Matobo Hills: Travel Guide to Zimbabwe’s Rock Art and Rhino Country: History & Culture
Discover Matobo Hills: Travel Guide to Zimbabwe’s Rock Art and Rhino Country
The Matobo Hills are a sea of granite domes and balancing boulders about 35 km south of Bulawayo, protected as Matobo National Park and inscribed by UNESCO in 2003. They hold one of the densest concentrations of rock art in the world, a wildlife sanctuary restocked with black and white rhino, and the grave of Cecil Rhodes. This guide is a hidden-gem pick alongside the country’s bigger names: fewer visitors reach it than Victoria Falls or Great Zimbabwe, but it rewards those who do.
Matobo at a glance
- Country: Zimbabwe
- Province: Matabeleland South
- Distance from Bulawayo: about 35 km south
- Matobo National Park size: 424 km² within a wider Matobo Hills landscape of roughly 3,100 km²
- Established: Rhodes Matopos National Park, 1926 (Cecil Rhodes’s bequest); Zimbabwe’s oldest national park
- UNESCO status: World Heritage Site since 2003
- Best time to visit: May to October (dry season)
History
People have used the Matobo Hills for at least 300,000 years, and the hills hold rock art created over roughly 13,000 to 2,000 years ago, including the well-known ‘running giraffe’ panel. More than 3,000 rock art sites have been registered here, one of the highest concentrations anywhere in the world. The Ndebele buried their leaders in these granite hills long before Cecil Rhodes chose Malindidzimu, ‘World’s View’, as his own grave site in 1902. UNESCO’s 2003 inscription recognised both the rock art and the hills’ continuing spiritual significance to local communities.
What to see and do
World’s View and Rhodes’s grave
Cecil Rhodes is buried on the summit of Malindidzimu, alongside Sir Charles Coghlan, Southern Rhodesia’s first prime minister, and Sir Leander Starr Jameson. The viewpoint gives sweeping views across the balancing rocks of the wider Matobo landscape.
Rock art
Painted shelters at Nswatugi, Pomongwe and Silozwane hold some of the best-preserved images in the hills, with hunting scenes and geometric designs dated from roughly 13,000 to 2,000 years old.
Rhino tracking
A dedicated 100 km² game reserve inside the park has been restocked with white rhino, reintroduced from KwaZulu-Natal from the 1960s, and black rhino, moved in from the Zambezi Valley in the 1990s. Guided rhino tracking on foot departs from Whovi Game Park, usually as a 2 to 3 hour walk.
Njelele and living spirituality
Long before Cecil Rhodes chose his own grave site here, the Matobo Hills were already Southern Africa’s most important rainmaking shrine. Njelele Shrine, a cave about 35 km south of Bulawayo within the Matobo Hills, has drawn pilgrims from across the region for centuries to petition the Mwali (also spelled Mwari) spirit for rain, protection and guidance. Local oral tradition describes a multi-lingual voice, Ngwali, once heard from the cave itself, answering those who came in times of drought; no one ever claimed to have seen the source of the voice, which was regarded not as God but as a messenger. Many of the region’s most important shrines, Njelele included, were built in caves and shelters already associated with far older San ritual activity, layering new spiritual practice on top of a much deeper history. Chiefs from communities around the Matobo Hills still send delegations to Njelele each year at the start of the rainy season to ask for rain, a living tradition that predates, and has outlasted, the colonial era.
Planning your visit
National park entry has been quoted at around US$18 per international adult per day, with rhino tracking an additional $15-20 per person on top of park entry; guided half-day tours from operators run from around $120 per person. Confirm current fees with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) or your lodge before travelling, since park fees change.
Getting there
Matobo is a straightforward day trip from Bulawayo, about 35 km to the north, and is usually visited by road with a guide or as a half or full-day tour. Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ) in Bulawayo is the nearest airport.
Where to stay
Most visitors base themselves in Bulawayo and visit Matobo on a day trip, or stay at one of a small number of lodges bordering the park itself. In Bulawayo, Holiday Inn Bulawayo is rated 8.3/10 from 408 verified reviews on Booking.com; see our Holiday Inn Bulawayo page for the full write-up. In-park and boundary lodges were not independently verified to the site’s rating standard in this pass, so none is listed here yet.
Frequently asked questions
Where are the Matobo Hills and how big is the national park?
The Matobo Hills lie about 35 km south of Bulawayo, in Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland South province. Matobo National Park covers 424 km² within a much wider Matobo Hills landscape of roughly 3,100 km², and it’s Zimbabwe’s oldest national park, established as Rhodes Matopos National Park in 1926.
Why are the Matobo Hills a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
UNESCO inscribed the Matobo Hills in 2003, recognising both one of the densest concentrations of rock art in the world and the hills’ continuing spiritual significance to local communities, including the Njelele rainmaking shrine.
What rock art can you see in Matobo?
Painted shelters at Nswatugi, Pomongwe and Silozwane hold some of the best-preserved rock art in the hills, with hunting scenes and geometric designs dated from roughly 13,000 to 2,000 years old.
Can you see rhino in the Matobo Hills?
Yes — a dedicated 100 km² game reserve inside the park, Whovi Game Park, has been restocked with white rhino (reintroduced from KwaZulu-Natal from the 1960s) and black rhino (moved in from the Zambezi Valley in the 1990s). Guided rhino tracking on foot is usually a 2 to 3 hour walk.
What is Njelele Shrine?
Njelele Shrine is a cave within the Matobo Hills that has drawn pilgrims for centuries to petition the Mwali (Mwari) spirit for rain, protection and guidance. Chiefs from surrounding communities still send delegations there each year at the start of the rainy season — a living tradition older than, and unbroken by, the colonial era.
What does it cost to visit, and when is the best time?
National park entry has been quoted at around US$18 per international adult per day, with rhino tracking an additional $15–20 per person; guided half-day tours from operators run from around $120 per person. May to October, the dry season, is the best time to visit.
World's View (Cecil Rhodes's grave), Nswatugi Cave, Pomongwe Cave, Silozwane Cave, Whovi Game Park rhino tracking