The hook
Zimbabwe's largest game reserve, a vast wilderness of teak forest and grassland famous for its enormous elephant herds, where in the dry season the wildlife gathers around waterholes kept alive by pumped water.
01Why it's worth it
Hwange, an easy hop from Victoria Falls, is one of Africa's great and underrated safari parks: a huge expanse of Kalahari sand woodland, open plains, and seasonal pans in western Zimbabwe. It supports a spectacular density of wildlife, above all one of the largest elephant populations on the continent, along with lions (some of them famous, like the lion Cecil), leopards, buffalo, giraffe, and one of Africa's better chances of seeing endangered wild dogs. Because much of the park has no natural surface water in the dry season, its survival depends on a network of pumped waterholes, and this creates the classic Hwange experience: parking at a waterhole in the dry months and watching hundreds of animals, especially elephants, stream in to drink. Less crowded and often more affordable than the marquee parks elsewhere, and superbly combined with nearby Victoria Falls, it makes a rewarding, wildlife-rich safari for those looking beyond the obvious.
02How to experience it
Stay at a camp or lodge and, in the dry season, spend time at the waterholes where the herds concentrate, especially around Nyamandhlovu and Kennedy. It combines perfectly with Victoria Falls a short drive away. Guided drives and walks add expertise; dry-season months are far the best for viewing.