For sheer scenic beauty there are few regions of Africa that can compete with the high mountain rampart that runs down Zimbabwe's eastern border. it stretches for 300 km (186 miles) in three mountain groups - Nyanga, Bvumba and Chimanimani - to divide the highveld of Zimbabwe from Mozambique's tropical lowland plain. Nyanga is the northernmost part, much of it protected within a national park - an enchanting expanse of rugged hills, pine forests, waterfalls, rivers and swathes of moorland slopes. Its lakes - Rhodes, Udu and Nyangwe - are fringed by reedbeds and lilies, and overlooked by sweeps of mountain terrain.
The park attracts walkers, pony-trekkers and climbers. Highest of the peaks and a favourite ascent ( a two-hour hike to the top has been charted) is Mount Nyangani, which soars 25j93 m (8508 ft) above sea level and dominates the skyline, its crest often mantled in cloud, its distinctive form discernible from a distance of 100km (62 miles).
Tucked against the mountain's flank is the Nyazengu Nature Reserve, known for its proteas and other wild flowers, its salmon-trout pools, its wildlife - lion and leopard have been spotted - and for its walking trail. This last meanders through mountain forest, and then grassland and more forest, to emerge onto a plateau, thereafter descending through a fairyland of trees and streams.
On the Nyanga plateau, one can see the debris of ancient iron workings. Other, more prominent relics of long-gone days are scattered throughout the park - stone-walled hilltop enclosures that once served as corrals, stock-pits and "kopje forts', and terraces designed to retain the previous soil in this mountainous region of heavy rains.
Special points of interest are the ruins at Nyahokwe and the Ziwa field museum, surrounded by the stone structures of a community of iron-smelting craftsmen, builders and farmers that lived here about 300 years ago. There are picnic shelters nearby.
Of the park's 17 rivers, the Pungwe is the largest. Its 10 km (6 mile) gorge is lushly vegetated, and its waterfall, tumbling over the escarpment's lip in an explosive tumult of water is most spectacular.
The cataract is rivalled, however, by the Mutarazi Falls, set in the Mutarazi National Parkj at the southern end of the Nyanga mountains. The falls plunge, in two stages 760m (2494ft) to the lovely, fertile Honde valley below. The vistas from the lofty promontory are breathtaking. A National Parks campsite offering basic facilities is situated above the falls.
The Nyanga region is well developed for tourism. The roads are generally in excellent condition and accommodation is plentiful. Especially attractive is Troutbeck Inn, an enchanting resort hotel that is situated beneath National Trust's World View and the Connemara lakes. it has a trout-stocked dam, golf course, charmingly appointed rooms, and a foyer log fire.
Nyanga is fine trout-fishing country; the upland dams and clear, ice-cold streams are stocked from the local hatchery, the country's largest. The average catch is around
1 kg (just over 2 lb); the record is 3.8 kg (8.4 lb). The best rivers are the Nyamaziwa and the Nyangombe, and the Gulliver and Purdon are good quality dams.
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