Chizarira National Park - Binga - Zimbabwe

Chizarira National Park, located in northwestern Zimbabwe atop the Zambezi Escarpment, spans approximately 2,000 square kilometers, making it the country’s third-largest national park. Its name derives from the Batonga word “chijalila,” meaning “great barrier,” reflecting the park’s rugged terrain.

The park’s landscape features steep escarpments descending 600 meters to the Zambezi Valley, offering panoramic views toward Lake Kariba. Rivers like the Mcheni and Lwizikululu have carved deep gorges into the terrain. Chizarira encompasses diverse ecosystems, including Southern Miombo woodlands in the north and Zambezian and Mopane woodlands in the south.

Chizarira hosts a variety of wildlife, including four of the Big Five: African elephant, lion, leopard, and Cape buffalo. Smaller species such as the klipspringer thrive in the park’s rocky outcrops. Birdlife is abundant, with sightings of the African broadbill, Livingstone’s flycatcher, yellow-spotted nicator, African emerald cuckoo, and the elusive African pitta. The Taita falcon also breeds within the park.

Established as a non-hunting reserve in 1938 and designated a national park in 1975, Chizarira remains one of Zimbabwe’s most remote and least visited parks. Its isolation has contributed to both its pristine condition and vulnerability to poaching. Conservation efforts are ongoing to protect and revitalize this unique wilderness area