Park · Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe
Lake Chivero Recreational Park
Harare's reservoir, 34 km out on the Bulawayo road, with a game park of giraffe, zebra and sable, San rock art you can walk to, and a pollution problem that killed four rhino in December 2024.
Short answer
At Lake Chivero Recreational Park, international visitors pay from US$5 (about €4.50 or £3.50) per adult per day, depending on which section you visit. The rates apply from 2 February 2026 to 31 December 2026.
.jpg){kind=link}
- Daily fee, international adult
- US$5 €4from, by section
- Malaria
- Chivero is Harare's reservoir, about 34 km out on the same highveld.
- Park fee nearby: Mukuvisi Woodlands
- US$6 €5about 30 km away
- Where
- Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe17.92°S 30.82°E
Lake Chivero Recreational Park fees 2026
Checked Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority tariffValid 2 February 2026 to 31 December 2026, per person per day, in US dollars.
| Pay point | International visitors | SADC nationals | Zimbabwean residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservation fee, day visitor | US$12 €11child US$6 | US$10child US$5 | US$3child US$1.5 |
| Conservation fee, staying in the park | US$5 €4child US$2.5 | US$4child US$2 | US$2child US$1 |
- The day visitor rate is for a day trip out to the lake from Harare. The lower rate is for anyone staying in the park's lodges, chalets or campsite, charged for each day of the stay.
- Children aged 6 to 12 pay half the adult conservation fee, which is the child figure shown; that comes from ZimParks' booking FAQs. Neither the tariff nor the FAQs say what a child under 6 pays, so ask at the gate.
- Vehicle fee per day: on the south bank (the game park and lodges) Chivero is in the Category IV table, so a foreign-registered car, pickup or 4x4 is US$10 on a day visit or US$3 a day if staying, US$3 and US$1 Zimbabwe-registered, with trailers and caravans the same again and a minibus US$30 or US$10 foreign, US$10 or US$5 local. The North Bank has its own cheaper table: US$5 foreign and US$2 local for a car, US$10 and US$5 for a minibus, day or stay.
- Lodges per night, Zimbabwean rate first then international: Kingfisher, Fish Eagle, Mockingchart and Hornbill (two bedrooms, four beds) US$90 or US$100, a renovated two bedroom lodge with three beds US$130 or US$150, a renovated one bedroom with a queen bed US$60 or US$75, a standard grade four bed lodge US$70 or US$90, a two bedroom chalet US$55 or US$70 and a one bedroom chalet US$35 or US$55. Camping or a caravan is US$8 or US$12 a person. A picnic site for the day (up to six people) is US$8 or US$12.
- Boat launching, fishing and the lion and game park walks are charged on top; the tariff does not print those.
- The local rate is for Zimbabwean citizens and residents, the SADC rate for nationals of the other Southern African Development Community countries, and everyone else pays the international rate.
- Everything is priced in US dollars. ZimParks says its prices are pegged in US dollars and that Zimbabweans may pay in local currency (the ZiG) at the day's rate; its booking FAQs say cash in ZiG or US dollars is taken on site and cards (Visa, MasterCard) and Ecocash online. All charges include VAT. Zimbabwe's standard VAT rate went to 15.5% on 1 January 2026 and tourism activities and transfers lost their zero rating, and the trade press reported ZimParks' new fees in February 2026 as following VAT being applied to park entry. Here the international and SADC rates went up by US$2 while the local rates stayed put.
- The 2026 tariff gives no start or end date. The PDF is dated 29 January 2026 and went onto zimparks.org.zw on 2 February, and the trade press reported it on 12 and 13 February as applying with immediate effect, so I count it from 2 February. ZimParks reissued its tariff mid-year in July 2025, so a new sheet could come at any time; I show this one as valid to 31 December 2026 and will re-check then.
- Fees are set by Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. Official tariff · Seen a new rate? Tell us
€1 = US$1.12 · £1 = US$1.34 (ECB rate, 3 Nov 2026). Converted amounts are approximate; you pay in US dollars.
How we got these figures
- Only the 2026 ZimParks tariff gives the Chivero figures, so each row is confirmed by one source, the official one.
- The 2026 conservation table lists every station by name rather than by category. The vehicle tables do the grouping: Mana Pools, Hwange, Chizarira, Zambezi, Matobo, Kariba, Marongora, Rifa, Nyanga and Chewore share one table; Kyle, Sebakwe, Osborne, Chivero, Darwendale, Chimanimani "and all other Category IV parks" share another; Matusadona with Chivero North Bank, Gonarezhou and Umfurudzi each have their own.
- ZimParks reissued its tariff in July 2025. For this park it left the conservation fees exactly where the 2023 sheet had them, so the 2026 tariff is the first rise here since 2023.
- SafariFind's 2026 fee guide prints the Chivero North Bank vehicle fee (US$5 for a foreign-registered car), which matches the tariff, but gives no per-person conservation fee for Chivero.
- ZimParks, De-Gazetted Tariff 2026 (the PDF is dated 29 January 2026; zimparks.org.zw gives the file a last-modified date of 2 February 2026) · official · checked 18 Oct 2026
- ZimParks online booking FAQs (child discount, payment) · official · checked 18 Oct 2026
- SafariFind (22 July 2026, vehicle fees from the 2026 tariff) · one source · checked 18 Oct 2026
- Tourism Update (6 January 2026), the VAT change to 15.5% · one source · checked 18 Oct 2026
- Tourism Update (12 February 2026), ZimParks raises fees with immediate effect after VAT · one source · checked 18 Oct 2026
- ZimParks, De-gazetted Tariff July 2025 revised (the tariff this one replaced) · official · checked 18 Oct 2026
- ZimParks, 2023 ZimParks Rates (the tariff before that) · official · checked 18 Oct 2026
Lake Chivero is Harare’s reservoir, on the Manyame River, opened in 1952 and still the city’s main water supply, 34 km out on the Bulawayo road. On the south shore ZimParks runs a game park of about 61 km² of miombo woodland, opened in 1962 and stocked mostly from Hwange. Giraffe, sable and San paintings are the draw. It is also a badly polluted lake, and since December 2024 that has mattered.
Getting there
Leave Harare on Samora Machel Avenue, which becomes the A5. Ignore the North Bank signpost at about 26 km, cross the Manyame River bridge at about 30 km and turn left straight after it. Right at the T junction, over the railway line, then gravel to the gate at about 34 km. A normal car copes, but keep off the marshy ground by the lake. Stop at roadblocks and toll gates, and carry small US dollar notes because change is rare (see the self-drive guide).
When to go
Harare has a wet summer from November to March or April, a cool dry winter from May to August and a hot dry spell in September and October. May to August is the comfortable window, though July nights drop to about 7 °C. The hot months are when the lake turns: the city council says fish die-offs happen every year then, as heat and sewage feed the algae. The UK health advice rates Harare very low for malaria, with high risk only below 1,200 m from November to June.
What to do
Game drives stay on designated roads, and walking anywhere else needs a park officer. Ranger walks are booked a day ahead at the office and run from one to five hours. Horse rides go out twice a day, never on Mondays. The San rock art is what I would make time for. Crocodile Rock is a signposted stop 650 m inside the gate and a 200 m footpath: two large crocodiles and a line of ten hunters, still bright after 2,000 years. The kudu panel at Pax Park has three kudu bulls. Bushman’s Point, about 13.6 km from the gate, has dancing women and a figure cutting down a tree, painted nowhere else in Zimbabwe. All three are inside the walking areas. Fishing needs a permit. Fish eagles are on the bird list, and the park has been a Ramsar site since 2013.
Good to know
In December 2024 cyanobacteria blooms, fed by raw sewage from Harare’s Marimba area, killed four white rhino, three zebra, four wildebeest, four fish eagles and more than 1,000 fish. Rhino were relocated to stop more poisoning, and by January 2025 the public was being kept off the shore. Do not swim, do not count on a rhino sighting, and ask at the gate what is open. The self-catering lodges (Kingfisher, Fish Eagle, Hornbill, Sunbird and Stonechat) run on borehole water, chalets share ablution blocks, and Msasa campsite on the North Bank has hot showers. Bring all your food, and a torch, because Zimbabwe has long power blackouts.
Wildlife you might see
13- very likelyCaptive eagles, owls and falcons at Kuimba ShiriThe bird sanctuary on the North Bank, signposted off the Bulawayo road at about 27.5 km from central Harare, before the Manyame bridge. Martial, black, crowned and fish eagles, spotted eagle owls, barn owls, African goshawks and peregrines, with a free-flying display at 3.30pm in summer and 4pm in winter. All year, no display on Mondayssource
- likelyGiraffeThe Brachystegia and miombo woodland of the South Bank game park. Giraffe are among the animals a normal game drive turns up. All yearsource
- likelyPlains zebraAcross the game park. Zebra are one of the animals drives most often turn up. All yearsource
- likelyGreater kuduAcross the game park. Kudu, zebra and giraffe are the usual sightings on a drive. All yearsource
- likelyImpala, waterbuck and warthogAcross the game park. All yearsource
- likelyAfrican fish eagle, Goliath heron, openbill and other waterbirdsThe shoreline. Fish eagles, Goliath herons and African openbills are on the park's list, and the lake has been a Ramsar wetland since January 2013. All yearsource
- possibleBlue wildebeestIn the game park. ZimParks names wildebeest with rhino, giraffe and zebra as the park's animals. All yearsource
- possibleSable, tsessebe and elandThe game park was stocked from Hwange when it opened in 1962 and these three are on the list, but they are not daily sightingssource
- possibleOstrichIn the game parksource
- possibleBaboon and monkeysIn the game park. Keep food out of sight. All yearsource
- possibleNile crocodileIn the lake itself. The gardens of the bird park on the North Bank are set well away from the shoreline for this reason. All yearsource
- rareWhite rhinoWhite rhino were the animal people drove out from Harare to see, and a ranger could walk children out to view them at a distance. In December 2024 four of them died after drinking from the lake during a cyanobacteria bloom and ZimParks moved the survivors out. Nothing I opened says they are back, so ask the park office before you drive out expecting rhino. Not at present, as far as the published record goessource
- rarePangolin, serval, caracal and aardvarkNight animals of the game park. They are on the species list and almost never seen by a day visitorsource
Likelihood is for a normal visit of two or three days, from the sources linked. Nothing is guaranteed in the wild.
Hikes and walks
4- Guided game walk, South Bank game park
A guide takes a group out for at least an hour and no more than five hours a day. A ranger can also take children on a shorter walk to learn animal spoor. Rhino were the reason most people booked, and with the rhino moved out since December 2024 ask what the walk now covers before you pay.
Permit: Guided only. Book a day ahead at the park office; walking in the game park without a park officer is prohibited
Zimbabwe Field Guide, Lake Chivero Recreational Park - Crocodile Rock rock art walk
From the gate drive 650 m, turn left at the green and yellow sign, then at 850 m turn right off the track and park. A short path along the vlei, past cement steps National Parks built, reaches the paintings. Ten ochre hunters, most with shoulder bags, and two large crocodiles facing opposite ways, a panel the field guide calls unique in Zimbabwe.
Permit: Entry fee at the gate. One of three designated walking areas where you may leave the car without a game scout
Zimbabwe Field Guide, Lake Chivero Rock Art - Kudu Panel walk, Pax Park
Drive past the Pax Park turn-off to the green and yellow sign at 1.42 km, park off the road and take the footpath east for 150 m, up cement steps into the rocks. The panel has three big kudu bulls, a warthog with both tusks drawn in twisted perspective, sable, tsessebe and hunters with arrows. Elephants, bushpig and a rhino are on the rock opposite.
Permit: Entry fee at the gate. Designated walking area
Zimbabwe Field Guide, Lake Chivero Rock Art - Bushman's Point rock art walk
Turn right at 5.32 km from the gate and follow the gravel to the parking area at 13.6 km. A marked path runs about 150 m to the fenced paintings at the north end of the point, above the lake: a line of five dancing women, thirteen identical kneeling figures, large fish, a small elephant, an unfinished eland, and a small figure cutting down a tree.
Permit: Entry fee at the gate. Designated walking area
Zimbabwe Field Guide, Lake Chivero Rock Art
Staying safe in Lake Chivero Recreational Park
- The lake is closed
- In December 2024 an algal bloom killed rhino, zebra, wildebeest, fish eagles and more than a thousand fish, and ZimParks closed the lake to the public. Kuimba Shiri, the bird park on the North Bank, says the shutdown cut off its restaurant, bar, accommodation, camping, boat cruises and white rhino viewing. In March 2026 the press still described Lake Chivero as closed and heavily polluted, with more than 250 million litres of raw sewage going into it every day. Do not swim, wade, launch a boat or eat fish from Chivero until ZimParks says the water is clean, and check before you drive out whether the game park and lodges are taking visitors. source
- Bilharzia
- Even once the lake reopens, the standing advice from the UK travel health service is to keep out of fresh water anywhere in Zimbabwe because of schistosomiasis, which gets in through the skin while wading, swimming or bathing. Repellent and towelling off are not reliable protection, there is no vaccine or tablet against it, and the infection often shows no symptoms, so anyone who has been in the water should get checked when they get home. Chlorinated pools are safe. source
- Malaria
- Chivero is Harare's reservoir, about 34 km out on the same highveld. NaTHNaC rates Harare very low risk for malaria and does not advise tablets for it, only bite avoidance; the high risk zone is below 1,200 m from November to June, which means the Zambezi valley and the lowveld, not here. If you are going on to Kariba or Mana Pools, ask about tablets for that part of the trip. source
- Rhino and walking
- ZimParks' one listed caution for Chivero is charging rhino. Outside the three designated rock art walking areas you must stay in your vehicle unless a game scout is with you, and if you are not sure where you may walk, ask at park reception. The rhino were moved out after the 2024 die-off, but the walking areas are still the only places to get out on your own. source
- Crocodiles on the shore
- The lake has crocodiles. Kuimba Shiri's gardens are set back from the shore for that reason, and the advice from a family who took a toddler there is that neither children nor adults should walk close to the lakeshore without someone experienced with them. source
- The Bulawayo road
- The UK Foreign Office warns of deep potholes, stray livestock and vehicles without lights, heavy lorries and cyclists among them, and tells you not to drive outside the main towns at night. Stop at every police roadblock and toll gate and get a receipt if you have to pay a fine. In Harare itself it names Liberation Legacy Way (Borrowdale Road) and Churchill Road for smash and grab robberies, so keep bags out of sight on those roads. source
Tips from travellers
- There are two Chiveros and two turn-offs. The North Bank, with Kuimba Shiri bird park, has its own turn-off from the Bulawayo road at about 26 km from central Harare, before the Manyame River bridge. The South Bank game park and rock art are a left turn just after the bridge at 30 km, then right at the T-junction (the left fork goes to the dam wall), over the railway onto gravel up and over the hill, and right again to the gate at about 34 km. several sources
- On the North Bank the thing to time your day around is the free-flying bird of prey display at Kuimba Shiri, in the afternoon (3.30pm in summer, 4pm in winter), where visitors can end up as perches for the owls and a fish eagle snatches food off the water. There is no show on Mondays. The lawns, pool and aviaries make it an easy stop with small children. With the lake closed since December 2024, phone ahead to see what is running. several sources
- Bring everything for the South Bank. ZimParks tells you to carry enough food for your stay and a first aid kit, the accommodation is self-catering, and the day trip write-ups say the same: take your own food and drink. several sources
- Horse rides in the game park go out twice a day, 8am to 9.30am and 3.30pm to 5pm, led by park staff and booked at the park office. There are none on Mondays, which is dipping day, and none when it is raining or looks like it, so in the wet months have a second plan. several sources
- Dress for the highveld, not the lowveld. Harare's July nights average about 6.5°C and have dropped to 0.1°C, so a night in a lodge between May and August needs a proper jacket and a warm sleeping bag; October afternoons average close to 29°C. ZimParks asks for earthy colours in the game park and no red, yellow or bright green. one source
Checked 19 October 2026. Conditions change, so confirm with the park or venue before you go.
Quick answers
How much is the entry fee for Lake Chivero Recreational Park?
International visitors pay US$12 (about €10.50 or £9) per adult and US$6 per child per day. These rates apply from 2 February 2026 to 31 December 2026 and are set by Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks).
Do Zimbabwens and SADC citizens pay less at Lake Chivero Recreational Park?
Zimbabwean residents pay US$3 per adult and SADC nationals pay US$10 per adult per day. You need ID or a passport to get the lower rate.
When were these Lake Chivero Recreational Park fees last checked?
We last checked them on 18 October 2026 against 7 published sources. We re-check every two weeks, but always confirm with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) before you travel.
What animals can you see in Lake Chivero Recreational Park?
Most visitors see captive eagles, owls and falcons at kuimba shiri. You have a good chance of seeing giraffe, plains zebra, greater kudu, impala, waterbuck and warthog. White rhino, pangolin, serval and caracal are there but rarely seen.
What are the best hikes in Lake Chivero Recreational Park?
Guided game walk, South Bank game park, Crocodile Rock rock art walk, Kudu Panel walk, Pax Park (0.15 km) and Bushman's Point rock art walk (0.15 km). See the hikes section for times, difficulty and permits.
Lake Chivero Recreational Park and the parks nearest it
| Park | International adult | Distance | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Chivero Recreational Park | US$5 €4 | · | Mashonaland West |
| Mukuvisi Woodlands | US$6 €5 | 30 km | Mashonaland East |
| Ngezi Recreational Park | US$5 €4 | 96 km | Mashonaland West |
| Chinhoyi Caves Recreational Park | US$5 €4 | 96 km | Mashonaland West |
Where the Lake Chivero Recreational Park fees come from
- ZimParks, De-Gazetted Tariff 2026 (the PDF is dated 29 January 2026; zimparks.org.zw gives the file a last-modified date of 2 February 2026)
- ZimParks online booking FAQs (child discount, payment)
- SafariFind (22 July 2026, vehicle fees from the 2026 tariff)
- Tourism Update (6 January 2026), the VAT change to 15.5%
- Tourism Update (12 February 2026), ZimParks raises fees with immediate effect after VAT
- ZimParks, De-gazetted Tariff July 2025 revised (the tariff this one replaced)
- ZimParks, 2023 ZimParks Rates (the tariff before that)
Open data: all park fees (CSV) · JSON (CC BY 4.0)
Cite as: Travel Africa Guide, "Lake Chivero Recreational Park fees 2026", checked 18 October 2026, https://travelafrica.guide/zimbabwe/lake-chivero-recreational-park/