GREAT ZIMBABWE
WHY TRAVEL HERE?
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Medieval city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwe and the town of Masvingo.
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A UNESCO World Heritage Site which has given the modern nation its name.
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Modern dating indicates that the city was built circa 1200 AD and lasted three to four hundred years before being abandoned and falling to ruin.
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Believed to have been the capital of an early Shona-Karanga empire who ruled the surrounding country.
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Divided into three main structures: the Hill Complex, the Valley Enclosures and the Great Enclosure.
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Its most formidable edifice, the Great Enclosure, covers an area of approximately 5,000m² with some walls standing 11m high and up to 5m thick.
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The mortarless walling of these massive structures is a great accomplishment of precolonial African architecture, second only to the pyramids of Ancient Egypt.
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Nearby Lake Mutirikwe is Zimbabwe’s third largest water body and is dammed at the confluence of the Mushagashe and Mutirikwe rivers.
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Enclosed by outcrops of granite (kopjes), the lake provides fantastic boating and fishing opportunities, although swimming is not advised due to a resident crocodile population.
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A small white rhino population can be found in the Mutirikwe Recreational Park.