Mana Pools National Park is one of the most remote and beautiful areas in Zimbabwe. The core of some 1.7 million hectares of UNESCO World Heritage conservation estate, its views of the broad river, floodplains, riverine woodland and the mountains of the Rift Valley escarpment are spectacular.
The river is wide, sandy, with islands and sandbanks protruding from its brown waters. On its banks, terraces rich in alluvial soils support a mixture of riverine forest and floodplain grasslands, attracting rich and varied mammal life in substantial numbers. Its peaceful waters hold impressive concentrations of hippo and Nile crocodile and good populations of tigerfish and bream. This stretch of the Zambezi River is famous for its four main pools (after which the Park is named: mama means ‘four’ in Shona) – Main, Chine, Long and Chisambuk – which are remnants of channels of the river that stopped flowing years ago. These and the pools dotted inland hold water all year round, drawing all manner of wildlife and waterfowl during the dry season.
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