Lupane

Lupane is the capital of Matabeleland North, which sounds grander than it is: a government complex, a university and a strip of shops on the A8 between Bulawayo and Hwange, in flat hardwood country. The district had 107,248 people at the 2022 census, nearly all of them rural; the urban count in 2012 was just 2,211. The one reason to stop is the Pupu battlefield in the forest to the west.

Getting there

The turn-off is 176 km from Bulawayo, with a 5 km spur into the centre. Hwange town is 335 km on the same road and Victoria Falls 440 km, so it makes a natural leg stretch on the way to Hwange National Park. People who drove it in August 2024 found very large potholes between Lupane and Hwange and took three and a half hours to the Hwange turn-off. A rebuild is under way in 51 km sections, but in August 2026 the minister admitted only about 57 km of the 440 were done. Fill up and buy supplies in Bulawayo. Halfway House, 230 km out, is the other obvious stop. Tolls and roadblocks are in our self-drive guide.

When to go

The town sits at 976 m, under the 1,200 m line below which malaria risk is high from November to June. Bulawayo is very low risk; Lupane is not, and the high risk season runs from November to June. Summer days push 40°C. Winter nights drop below 10°C. Past Lupane towards Hwange you can meet elephant and other game on the A8, one more reason not to drive it after dark.

What to do

Pupu is where Lobengula’s Imbizo regiment under Mtshana Khumalo wiped out Allan Wilson’s patrol on 4 December 1893. It lies in the forest about 50 km west of Lupane, under 10 km from the Shangani River. A 1946 obelisk names the 34 dead troopers; the bones went to World’s View in the Matobo Hills in 1904. The National Museums and Monuments have fenced the site and built a horseshoe wall of exhibition panels, with a statue of Khumalo planned. Shoes come off near the sacred leadwood tree. In August 2021 the Chronicle put the work at about 90 percent done, with the road from Lupane and the signposting still to come, so ask in town about the state of the road before you set off.

Lupane State University, on the Bulawayo to Victoria Falls highway near town, began with 12 agriculture students. The tourism board points you at local crafts and the Gwai flower pots to buy on your way out.

Good to know

• This is ZAPU country that suffered badly in Gukurahundi in the 1980s. Let locals raise it.
• US dollar cash in small notes; cards fail and power cuts run long. See our travel essentials.
• We list a lodge, a guesthouse and a campsite in and around town.

Last updated 19 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Lupane District (provincial capital, 172 km from Bulawayo on the A8, 976 m, 107,248 people at the 2022 census, 2,211 urban in 2012, summer days up to 40°C and winter nights below 10°C, Gwayi and Shangani rivers, Bubi-Lupane Dam 2010, ARDA Jotsholo, cattle and hardwood timber, coal bed methane exploration, lions and hyenas from the parks take livestock, Pupu burials of Magwegwe Fuyana and Mhlanga, ZAPU country and Gukurahundi, government complex built after it became capital, railway through the west of town, small aerodrome, Sipepa road to Tsholotsho), Wikipedia, A8 road (440 km Bulawayo to Victoria Falls, Lupane turn-off 176 km with a 5 km P10 spur to the centre, Halfway House 230 km, Dete-Kamativi crossroads about 59 km past Halfway House, Hwange 335 km, toll plazas at Umguza turn-off about 18 km from Bulawayo and about 6 km from Hwange, bridges over the Bubi, Lupane, Shabula and Gwayi rivers), The Chronicle via Herald Online, Pupu memorial nears completion, 16 August 2021 (about 50 km west of Lupane in the forests, under 10 km from the Shangani, Battle of Pupu 4 December 1893, Imbizo regiment under Mtshana Khumalo against the Allan Wilson patrol, NMMZ national monument about 90 percent done, perimeter fence, horseshoe exhibition wall, 1946 obelisk with 34 names and bullet holes, sacred leadwood tree where shoes come off, statue of Khumalo planned, road upgrade and signage planned), Wikipedia, Shangani Patrol (3 to 4 December 1893 north of the Shangani River, 34 killed, remains reinterred at World's View in the Matobo Hills in 1904, memorial unveiled July 1904), Great Zimbabwe Guide, the road from Bulawayo to Hwange (August 2024, about 3.5 hours Bulawayo to the Hwange turn-off, 20 km of smooth tar out of Bulawayo, very large potholes at the 110 km point and between Lupane and Hwange, one police roadblock, fuel and supplies in Bulawayo, Halfway House Hotel as a stop, elephant and other wildlife on the road past Lupane), CITE, Bulawayo to Victoria Falls road works to resume after go-slow, 13 August 2026 (440 km, eight contractors with about 51 km each, chip and spray on damaged sections, about 57 km done, contractors on a go-slow, budget short), Lupane State University (main campus on the Bulawayo to Victoria Falls highway at Lupane, founded 2004 under the Lupane State University Act, opened with 12 agriculture students, six faculties, over 3,000 students), Wikipedia, Lupane State University (established 2005 in Lupane to promote agriculture in semi-arid regions, 12 students at the start, 4,874 students in 2020), Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Matabeleland North (Lupane arts and crafts, Gwai flower pots), UK NaTHNaC TravelHealthPro, Zimbabwe (high malaria risk below 1,200 m from November to June, lower July to October, Bulawayo very low), UK FCDO, Zimbabwe safety and security (stop at roadblocks and toll gates, avoid driving outside towns at night, deep potholes, fuel shortages, US dollars in small notes, cards often refused, frequent long power cuts, rainy season November to April).