Midlands

The Midlands is the middle of Zimbabwe, 49,166 km² of hilly highveld between Harare and Bulawayo, with 1,811,905 people at the 2022 census and Gweru as its capital. This is mining country. The Great Dyke runs through it, Shurugwi is one of the biggest chrome producers in the country and Zvishavane is the old Shabani asbestos town, its mine opened in 1916. The reason to stop is older than the mines: the Torwa and Rozvi stone walls at Naletale and Danamombe.

Getting there

Gweru sits on the A5, 275 km from Harare and 164 km from Bulawayo. The A4 to Masvingo crosses the east at Mvuma, and the A17 joins it to Gweru (83 km). From Mvuma the A4 runs on to Masvingo and Great Zimbabwe. Stop at every roadblock and toll gate, get a receipt for any fine and do not drive outside towns after dark. The self-drive guide covers the paperwork.

When to go

Most of Gweru’s 661 mm of rain falls from December to February. October is the hot month at a mean high of 28.3°C, and July nights drop to about 4.5°C. May to September is the dry stretch and the easiest time for walking ruins, but bring warm clothes. The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority puts the Midlands at low to no malaria risk. If Victoria Falls comes next, that changes: high risk below 1,200 m from November to June.

What to do

Naletale is the reason to leave the tar. The 17th-century Torwa capital sits on a granite kopje, its wall worked in chevron, herringbone and chequer patterns picked out in reddish ironstone, with six turrets along the top. From the turn-off on the Gweru side it is 21.1 km of gravel and farm track to the site museum, with two stream crossings, then an 800 m walk up the kopje. Danamombe (the old Dhlo Dhlo), about 86 km southwest of Gweru, was the Rozvi capital from about 1693.

Sebakwe Recreational Park is a ZimParks dam of about 2,600 ha where the Sebakwe River breaks through the Great Dyke, with crocodiles on the shore and hippo in the water. Antelope Park, the lion-breeding game farm at Gweru, has its own page.

Wolfshall Pass, which Shurugwi calls Boterekwa, winds up between the hills. On a clear day you can see from around Shurugwi as far as the hills of Masvingo and Great Zimbabwe, more than 145 km away. The pass has seen many crashes, most of them fatal, so take it slowly. At Mvuma a 40.28 m chimney from 1913 still stands by the old Falcon mine.

Good to know

Bring US dollar cash in small, clean notes; change is rare, torn ones get refused and foreign cards do not always work. The ZiG replaced the Zimbabwe dollar in April 2024, but the US dollar is still legal tender. Fuel sometimes runs out, so fill up in Gweru or Kwekwe. Power cuts are long. Photographing police or soldiers is illegal. More in the travel essentials guide.

Last updated 19 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Midlands Province (capital Gweru, 49,166 km², 1,811,905 people in 2022, eight districts, cities Gweru and Kwekwe, towns Shurugwi, Zvishavane, Gokwe and Redcliff, hilly temperate highveld, Shona widest spoken and isiNdebele in the west), Wikipedia, Gweru (1,424 m, 275 km from Harare, 164 km from Bulawayo, 661 mm a year, December 159 mm, July mean minimum 4.5°C, October mean maximum 28.3°C), Zimbabwe Field Guide, Gweru formerly Gwelo (A5 Harare to Bulawayo road, A17 to Mvuma, A4 on to Masvingo and Beitbridge, A18 south to Shurugwi and Zvishavane, Thornhill air training, Great Dyke rich in chrome, asbestos, platinum and gold), Wikipedia, Great Dyke (about 550 km north to south through central Zimbabwe, 3 to 12 km wide, chromite and platinum, Sebakwe sub-chamber, mines near Shurugwi and Zvishavane), Wikipedia, Shurugwi (formerly Selukwe, about 1,440 m, 32 km south of Gweru, one of the largest chrome producers, Unki platinum mine, Wolfshall Pass or Boterekwa with many fatal accidents, Great Zimbabwe about 145 km away and visible on a clear day), Wikipedia, Mvuma (formerly Umvuma, on the Harare to Masvingo highway 192 km from Harare and about 100 km from Masvingo, 83 km from Gweru, Falcon mine claims 1900, 40.28 m chimney built 1913, Mvuma Art and Craft Centre on the A4 selling stone sculpture), Wikipedia, Zvishavane (formerly Shabani, asbestos mine opened 1916, 121 km from Gweru, 97 km west of Masvingo, 59,717 people in 2022), Zimbabwe Field Guide, Naletale Monument (National Monument No. 3, granite kopje at 1,400 m, Torwa capital in the 17th century, chevron, herringbone, cord and chequer walling with reddish banded ironstone, six turrets, 21.1 km of gravel and farm track from the Gweru side with two stream crossings, 800 m footpath up the kopje, restored 2012 to 2014, Danan'ombe formerly Dhlo Dhlo), National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, Central Region Gweru (Military Museum opened 24 January 1974, Danamombe National Monument No. 5, about 86 km southwest of Gweru and 92 km northeast of Bulawayo by all-season gravel from Insiza, Rozvi capital from about 1693, Khami-type walling and a site museum), ZimParks, Sebakwe Recreational Park (Sebakwe River through a gap in the Great Dyke, dam enlarged 1981, about 2,600 ha of water, 47.2 m wall, crocodiles along the shore and hippo, warm clothing at night April to August), Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, health and safety (malaria high below 1,200 m from November to June including the Zambezi Valley and Victoria Falls, low to no risk in Harare, Bulawayo, the Midlands and Matabeleland South), UK FCDO, Zimbabwe safety and security (US dollar legal tender, ZiG since April 2024, carry small notes, torn notes refused, cards often fail, stop at roadblocks and toll gates and get a receipt for fines, no driving outside towns at night, fuel sometimes unavailable, long power cuts and dead traffic lights, photographing military sites and police illegal and enforced).