Things to Do in Matobo Hills: Rock Art, Rhino and Ancient Granite

Matobo Hills National Park is 35km south of Bulawayo - close enough to do in a day, extraordinary enough to stay for two nights. The park protects 424 square kilometres of ancient granite landscape where boulders the size of houses have been sculpted into balancing formations over billions of years of erosion. It holds some of Zimbabwe’s most important history, most compelling wildlife, and most concentrated rock art. For visitors planning day trips or guided excursions, Matobo Hills tours on GetYourGuide bundle the main highlights with a guide and transport from Bulawayo.

The Matobo Hills city guide covers accommodation and transport in detail. This page focuses on what to do once you’re there.

White Rhino Tracking on Foot

This is the experience that most visitors come for, and it delivers. Matobo National Park holds a growing white rhino population inside the Intensive Protection Zone - the numbers are not publicly disclosed for security reasons, but the herds are regularly encountered on foot walks.

Guided rhino tracking departs from the Maleme Dam area, typically at 6am or 7am. An armed National Parks ranger leads the group - following footprints, broken vegetation, and fresh dung until the herd is found. The approach on foot to within 20–30 metres of white rhino is genuinely stirring. Adult white rhino weigh over 2,000kg and move with a heaviness that the ground seems to register.

Cost: approximately USD 30–40 per person (as of 2026) on top of the standard park entry fee of approximately USD 10 per person. Booking is possible directly at the Maleme Dam National Parks office on the day, or through Bulawayo lodges including Nesbitt Castle and Cresta Churchill. Wilderness Safaris’ Camp Amalinda also runs rhino tracking for guests. We recommend booking a day ahead during peak season (July–October).

World’s View - Cecil Rhodes’ Grave

Malindidzimu Hill, called World’s View, is a granite dome at the centre of the park. Cecil John Rhodes requested burial here in 1902 - he called it the finest view in the world. His grave, alongside those of Dr Leander Starr Jameson and the Shangani Patrol soldiers, is carved directly into the rock at the summit.

The climb from the car park takes roughly 20 minutes - the path scrambles over rounded granite boulders rather than walking on a proper trail. Most visitors manage it without difficulty; people with mobility issues may find it challenging. The summit offers a 360-degree panorama over an apparently endless landscape of kopjes, balanced boulders, and dry bush stretching to every horizon.

World’s View entry is included in standard park entry - no additional fee. The site opens at sunrise and closes at sunset. It is the most visited point in the park.

San Bushman Rock Art

The Matopos holds an estimated 3,000 painted rock shelters - one of the world’s highest concentrations of San Bushman rock art. The paintings document animals, hunting scenes, and trance rituals in ochre, red, white, and black, dating from several thousand years ago to as recently as the 19th century.

Pomongwe Cave is the most accessible, with a short walk from the road. The paintings include large eland and kudu figures alongside smaller human figures. An interpretive display inside the cave adds context. Entry is with standard park entry - no additional charge.

Nswatugi Cave holds some of the finest individual animal paintings in the park. The kudu figures in particular show a naturalism and anatomical accuracy that is striking up close. Allow 30 minutes at each site. A National Parks guide for rock art interpretation can be arranged at the Maleme gate for approximately USD 10 and adds considerably to the experience.

Both caves are approximately 20 minutes’ drive from the park entrance on gravel roads.

Wildlife Drives and Waterhole Visits

Matobo is not primarily a big-game park in the Hwange sense - the terrain works against large herds. But the park has exceptional leopard density (the kopje habitat is ideal), sable antelope, zebra, klipspringer, and rock hyrax. The Toghwana Dam waterhole in the northern section of the park is productive for giraffe, impala, kudu, and baboon particularly in the dry season (June–October).

Verreaux’s Eagle, one of Africa’s most impressive raptors, nests on several Matobo kopjes - look for them soaring the ridgelines between 7am and 10am. The park holds over 100 pairs. The kopje terrain also concentrates rock hyrax (dassies) in large numbers - they are the Verreaux’s primary prey, and colonies are visible on almost every major kopje.

Self-drive is permitted on the main gravel roads. A 4WD is not required in the dry season. Game driving is best from dawn to 9am and from 4pm until close.

Mzilikazi’s Grave and the Ndebele Heritage Sites

Mzilikazi, the founder of the Matabele (Ndebele) nation, is buried at Entumbane - near the edge of the Matobo region rather than inside the national park itself. The site holds significant meaning for Zimbabweans of Ndebele heritage and receives less international tourism than World’s View, but it is accessible as an add-on for visitors interested in the full layering of history that makes the Matopos such a charged landscape.

The Ndebele king’s burial cave at Entumbane is approximately 15km from the Maleme Dam gate. Arrange a local guide through the National Parks office if visiting independently.

Practical Tips

Getting there: From Bulawayo city centre, take the Matopos Road south - the drive to the Maleme Dam gate is approximately 45 minutes on sealed road. Inside the park, tracks are gravel and accessible to standard vehicles in the dry season. Bring all supplies from Bulawayo - there is no shop or fuel inside the park.

Best time to go: Year-round, but July–October concentrates wildlife at waterholes and gives the clearest views from World’s View. The wet season (November–April) greens the landscape dramatically but some tracks become impassable.

Entry fees as of 2026: Approximately USD 10 per person per day + USD 5 per vehicle. Pay at the Maleme Dam gate in USD cash.

Day trip from Bulawayo: Highly practical. Guided day packages including transport, guide, and rhino tracking fees run approximately USD 120–180 per person. Most Bulawayo lodges arrange these, or search Matobo Hills day tours for current availability.

We recommend Zimbabwe travel insurance for Matobo visits - rhino tracking involves wild animals in open terrain, and the nearest hospital with surgical capacity is in Bulawayo, 45 minutes away.