“I love nature. I love forests and nature. This is a place where you can recreate yourself.”
Slovenian lifestyle experience expert Lado Rot said, just after he walked the Mutarazi Falls Skywalk and Skyline in Nyanga on Monday.
Upon walking back to the car park, some 500 metres away, emerging from the forest, Rot chose a spot nearby where he could ‘embrace the nature’.
He eased onto the grass beneath a cluster of trees, seeking to be one with his surroundings.
With his long brown hair, white T-shirt, and blue jeans—more wanderer than delegate—Lado insisted on stillness before leaving.
Sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, he seemed almost transcendent as he meditated on the scenic view, carried away by the beauty of the forest and the landscape he had just crossed.
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Lado was part of a group of German buyers touring Nyanga’s attractions ahead of the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel Expo, which begins today and runs until Friday.
Describing the zipline earlier, Lado said:
“It was a great and amazing experience. Very, very nice. I would do it again. I am afraid of the heights, but I would do it again.”
The group’s sponsor, leading tourism and hospitality group Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG), was determined to show this delegation why Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands deserve a place on the global tourism map.
Rising out of the misty highlands of Manicaland, Mutarazi Falls plunges dramatically within the over 2 000-hectare area, a wilderness that hugs the southern edge of Nyanga National Park.
Tucked deep in Mutasa District, the falls stand among Zimbabwe’s most breathtaking natural landmarks, where forest, mountain, and sky meet in a spectacular cascade.
“The iconic Mutarazi Falls—at 772 meters, it is the highest waterfall in Zimbabwe, second in Africa, and the sixth highest in the world,” RTG told NewsDay.
“Adventure lovers can take on adrenaline-pumping experiences such as the Skywalk and Africa’s longest zip line, soaring through the treetops with breathtaking views below.”
Lado, together with most of the visiting buyers, took on both the Skywalk and the Skyline zipline—their exhilarated screams proof enough that the experience had given them a thrill to remember.
The Eastern Highlands are a chain of rugged mountains and valleys that run along Zimbabwe’s eastern border with Mozambique, stretching from Nyanga in the north through Bvumba (Vumba) near Mutare down to Chimanimani in the south.
This highland belt is famed for its cool climate, mountains, botanical estates, mist-shrouded forests, waterfalls, and dramatic granite peaks.
Each section of the range offers its own character. Nyanga with its vast national park, trout-filled rivers; Zimbabwe’s highest mountain, Vumba, with its lush botanical gardens and panoramic views into Mozambique; and Chimanimani, with its pristine wilderness, caves, and ancient rock art.
A day earlier, RTG had taken the German buyers to the La Rochelle Country Club and Spa, an estate in the Eastern Highlands, near Mutare, that features historic accommodation, extensive botanical gardens, recreational activities, and a spa.
There, the visiting group met botanist Peter Masamvu, who shared the estate’s history, explaining that the club’s orchid collection remains one of its greatest treasures.
Many of the orchids are now preserved under the National Trust of Zimbabwe, an organisation dedicated to preserving the country’s magnificent natural and cultural heritage for future generations.
Masamvu is second generation.
His father served the club’s owners, Sir Stephen Courtauld, a British philanthropist and heir to the Courtauld textile fortune, and his wife, Lady Virginia, who settled in Mutare in 1951.
“We were a lot of children, and it was only me who wanted to pick up after my father and follow in his footsteps,” Masamvu said.
The Courtaulds carried with them a legacy stretching back centuries. From Huguenot refugees in France, the family rose to industrial titans in Britain—transforming from goldsmiths in 17th-century London into silk weavers and, by the 19th century, global leaders in textiles.
Their innovation in rayon production turned Courtaulds into one of the world’s largest producers of man-made fibres, employing thousands across Europe and North America.
Yet beyond business, the Courtaulds were equally renowned for philanthropy.
Stephen himself financed the British School at Rome, the Royal Opera House, and famously Ealing Studios, which produced some of Britain’s most celebrated films.
Hence, when he and Lady Virginia settled at La Rochelle, they brought this spirit of cultural investment to Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands, leaving behind an estate that today fuses history, botany, and heritage tourism.
As such, the club is now one of the most celebrated botanical gardens in Zimbabwe, with an estate measuring 40 hectares.
RTG led the group of German buyers through the nursery and orchid house on-site to view and potentially buy some of the unique plants gathered from around the world over the years.
The staff also developed a herb and vegetable garden, with guided tours available for those interested to see one of the several scenic sites around the estate grounds.
“We sell flowers and practice organic farming,” the club’s general manager Regis Muchenje said.
“We supply a German organic farming company with seeds and other related product that we export to Germany. The Botanical Gardens is 40 hectares where we grow the orchids.”
From La Rochelle’s heritage gardens, the tour wound back into Nyanga, where RTG led the delegation to the Prince of Wales Viewpoint.
Perched high on a clifftop, the site offers one of Zimbabwe’s most dramatic panoramas—a sweeping view that drops into the misty Honde Valley and stretches beyond the border into neighbouring Mozambique.
Named after the Prince of Wales, who visited the area nearly a century ago, the viewpoint captures the Eastern Highlands at their most majestic: rolling mountains, plunging escarpments, and a horizon where two countries seem to meet in a sea of green.
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) statistics confirm that the Eastern Highlands are indeed showing growth in places such as Nyanga and Vumba.
“Mutare/Vumba saw notable improvement, with a 5-percentage point increase (42% in 2024 compared to 37% in 2023). This growth is likely fueled by the appeal of the region's scenic beauty and a growing preference for leisure travel,” ZTA said in the 2024 Tourism Trends and Statistics Report.
“Nyanga also recorded growth, with occupancy rising by 2 percentage points (47% in 2024 versus 45% in 2023). The region benefits from its reputation as a popular holiday destination for domestic tourists.”
In fact, Nyanga National Park entries saw the highest increase among all the national parks at 41%, while Vumba saw an increase of 7%.
These figures highlight how the Eastern Highlands are steadily cementing their appeal to both domestic and foreign travellers seeking cool mountain air, scenic landscapes, and heritage experiences.
“Nyanga also boasts other must-see attractions, such as the mysterious Mount Nyangani, the serene Nyangombe Falls, and abundant wildlife within the Nyanga National Park,” RTG said.
“Heritage Expeditions Africa HExA—RTG’s tour operations arm—offers guided tours and curated activities which include but not limited to horse back trails, quad biking, excursions to Mount Nyangani, Mutarazi Falls and Nyangombe Falls. Other services include transfers using its fleet of brand new luxury coaches.”
For visitors like Rot, Nyanga’s forests, waterfalls, and peaks are more than sights to tick off—they are places to pause, breathe, and, as he put it, “recreate yourself”.