Park · Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe
Mukuvisi Woodlands
263 ha of msasa and miombo woodland in the Harare suburb of Hillside, with giraffe, zebra and eland, marked trails of 3 to 10 km and guided horse rides.
Short answer
At Mukuvisi Woodlands, everyone pays US$6 (about €5.50 or £4.50) per adult and US$5 per child per visit. The rates apply from 22 April 2026 to 31 December 2026.
- Entry fee, every adult
- US$6 €5
- Malaria
- UK travel health advice puts Harare at very low risk, with bite avoidance the only advice.
- Park fee nearby: Lake Chivero Recreational Park
- US$5 €4about 30 km away
- Where
- Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe17.84°S 31.09°E
Mukuvisi Woodlands fees 2026
Checked Mukuvisi Woodlands Association tariffValid 22 April 2026 to 31 December 2026, per person per visit, in US dollars.
| Who | Adult | Child |
|---|---|---|
| All visitors | US$6 €5 | US$5 €4 |
- The child rate is for ages 5 to 12. Under 5s go free. Senior citizens pay US$3. A dog is US$2 and must stay on a lead the whole way round; let it off in the game area and you can be banned.
- Open 8am to 5pm every day. You sign an indemnity at reception before you go in. The trails are marked loops of roughly 3, 5, 8 and 10 km through the woodland and past the bird hide and small dam, and the same entry fee covers walking, running or mountain biking them.
- Guided options cost extra and are booked through reception: horse safari US$30 for adults and US$20 for children aged 7 to 12 (70 kg rider limit, rides at 8.30am, 11am and 3pm, seven days a week), guided walking safari US$30, guided bird walk US$20 (run with BirdLife Zimbabwe), pony ride US$2.
- The animals (eland, zebra, giraffe, impala and the birds) are fed near the viewing platform at about 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays, which is the easiest time to see them. The Mukuvisi Market, usually the first Sunday of the month, has free entry; check the events page before relying on it.
- Groups: church and charity groups of ten get 20 per cent off (US$48 for ten adults, US$40 for ten children). Hiring the boma for a private party of under 50 is US$80 and everyone still pays the entry fee. A photographer at a special function pays US$30. School visits have their own scale: US$5 for a teacher or a college or senior school student, US$3 for a pre-school or primary pupil.
- Members (individual and family categories) walk the trails free whenever the Woodlands are open. There are braai facilities, picnics are welcome, and the coffee shop is open all day with breakfast from 7am.
- The Association publishes the fees without a start or end date. Its sitemap shows the home page carrying them was last updated on 22 April 2026 and the activities page on 2 October 2026, so I show them as valid from 22 April 2026 to 31 December 2026 and will re-check in the new year.
- Fees are set by Mukuvisi Woodlands Association. 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
- The same figures appear on the home page and the activities page, both run by the Association, so I count them as one source. The activities page labels the US$6 and US$5 as the fee for the unguided trails; the boma hire note calls the same figures the standard entry fees, which is how I have treated them.
- The old domain mukuvisiwoodland.co.zw redirects to mukuvisiwoodlands.org; the .org site is the current one.
- Mukuvisi Woodlands is a city nature reserve and environmental education centre on a lease from Harare Municipality that runs to 2090, not a ZimParks estate, so ZimParks tariffs do not apply.
- Mukuvisi Woodlands, home page (entry fees and opening hours, updated 22 April 2026) · official · checked 18 Oct 2026
- Mukuvisi Woodlands, Activities (trail fees, horse safaris, guided walks, function fees, updated 2 October 2026) · official · checked 18 Oct 2026
- Mukuvisi Woodlands, School Visits (fees for educational visits) · official · checked 18 Oct 2026
- Mukuvisi Woodlands, About Us (the Association and the 1980 lease from Harare Municipality) · official · checked 18 Oct 2026
- Mukuvisi Woodlands, page sitemap (last-modified dates: home page 22 April 2026, activities page 2 October 2026) · official · checked 18 Oct 2026
Mukuvisi is the bit of bush Harare kept. It covers about 263 hectares of msasa and miombo woodland along the Mukuvisi and Chiraura rivers in the suburb of Hillside. It is not a national park. The Mukuvisi Woodlands Association runs it on a lease from Harare Municipality, and much of its work is teaching school groups. For a visitor with a free morning in Harare it is the easiest wildlife outing there is.
Getting there
The entrance is on Hillside Road at the corner of Glenara Avenue South. From the city centre, head out along Samora Machel Avenue to the Glenara Avenue junction (the woodlands are about 1.6 km from there), turn right into Glenara Avenue South, carry on across Robert Mugabe Avenue to the next set of lights, then go left into Hillside Road. The gate is roughly 200 m along on the right, and there is a guard at the car park. Take a taxi. Wikivoyage suggests the inDrive or Hwindi apps, and if you flag one down instead, settle the fare before you get in.
When to go
The gates are open from 8am to 5pm every day. On hot days go early and carry a hat and water. Weekends are the time to see the animals up close, because staff put food out near the viewing platform on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and the eland, zebra and impala come in for it. The Mukuvisi Market is usually held on the first Sunday of the month.
What to do
The marked trails are the main reason to come. There are unguided loops of about 3, 5, 8 and 10 km that you can walk, run or ride on a mountain bike. They pass a bird hide over a small dam before heading into the game area. More than 300 bird species have been recorded here, so bring binoculars. If you would rather have company, go on a guided walking safari or a horseback ride. Horse rides go out three times a day, seven days a week, you book them ahead at reception, and there is a 70 kg weight limit. BirdLife Zimbabwe runs guided bird walks. The interpretive area has blue duiker, tortoises, a pair of crocodiles and a wildfowl pond, and you can bring your own food to picnic there. There are braai facilities too.
Good to know
Everyone signs an indemnity form before going in. Dogs are allowed but must stay on a lead the whole way. The reserve says anyone who lets a dog loose in the game area can be banned. Elephants were kept here once, as orphans, but they tore up the trees and were moved to Antelope Park near Gweru. The woodland has its problems. Wikipedia records squatters, tortoise poaching and firewood cutting, and an armed robbery at the reserve in January 2022, so leave valuables out of sight in the car. Entry fees are in the table on this page.
Wildlife you might see
11- very likelyGiraffeAround the game viewing platform, where the animals are fed. All year. Surest at the weekend feed, about 2pm on Saturday and Sunday, when game cubes are put out near the platformsource
- very likelyPlains zebraAround the viewing platform at feeding time. All year, most reliably at the weekend feedsource
- very likelyElandAt the platform, and sometimes in a herd walking along the paths. All yearsource
- very likelyImpalaAround the viewing platform at feeding time. All yearsource
- very likelyNile crocodile and tortoisesIn enclosures: two crocodiles that climb out of their pond to lie in the sun, and tortoises hidden among the hay bales. All yearsource
- very likelyEgyptian goose, grey heron and guineafowlResident around the Woodlands. All yearsource
- likelyBlue wildebeestIn the game area with the zebra, giraffe and eland. All yearsource
- likelyWoodland birds (over 300 species on the BirdLife Zimbabwe list)Throughout the woodland. All yearsource
- possibleSable antelopeListed among the Woodlands' resident mammals. All yearsource
- possibleWaterbuck, bushbuck and duikerListed among the Woodlands' resident mammals. All yearsource
- rareGenets, civet and bushbabyThroughout the woodland. Night only, so day visitors almost never see themsource
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- Mukuvisi 3 km trail
The shortest of the colour-coded loops, on sandy paths a pushchair copes with. Enough for small children.
Permit: Sign the indemnity before you start
Great Zimbabwe Guide, Mukuvisi Woodlands key info (3, 5, 8 and 10 km colour-coded routes, 2 to 5 hours, pushchair-friendly sandy walkways) - Mukuvisi 5 km trail
A clearly marked loop that you walk, run or mountain bike on your own, with no guide. Open every day, 8am to 5pm.
Permit: Sign the indemnity before you start
Mukuvisi Woodlands, Activities (unguided, clearly marked routes of around 3, 5, 8 and 10 km to walk, run or ride, open 8am to 5pm daily) - Mukuvisi 8 km trail
Like the other routes it runs through msasa and miombo woodland, with riverine bush along the Mukuvisi and Chiraura rivers.
Permit: Sign the indemnity before you start
Zimbabwe Field Guide, Mukuvisi Woodlands Wildlife and Environment Centre (3, 5, 8 and 10 km routes, msasa and miombo woodland, riverine vegetation along the Mukuvisi and Chiraura rivers) - Mukuvisi 10 km trail
The longest marked route, open to walkers, runners and mountain bikers. Dogs are allowed but must stay on a lead the whole way.
Permit: Sign the indemnity before you start
Mukuvisi Woodlands, Activities (marked routes of around 3, 5, 8 and 10 km to walk, run or mountain bike, dogs on a lead throughout)
Staying safe in Mukuvisi Woodlands
- Malaria
- UK travel health advice puts Harare at very low risk, with bite avoidance the only advice. That changes once you leave the highveld: below 1,200 m the risk is high from November to June, and the Zambezi valley carries it all year. If Mukuvisi is a stop on the way to Kariba or Mana Pools, plan your tablets for those, not for Harare. source
- Walking among the game
- You walk unguided through the wild game area, and everyone signs an indemnity before setting off. Give the big animals room and do not walk up to a giraffe for a photo. Dogs must stay on a lead the whole way; let one off in the wild game area and the Woodlands may ban you. source
- Heat and sun
- When it is hot the Woodlands tell walkers to wear a hat and sunscreen and to carry water. Bottled water is on sale at the Woodlands before you set off. source
- Driving there
- The UK Foreign Office names Liberation Legacy Way (Borrowdale Road), Churchill Road and the main junctions on the airport road for smash-and-grab robberies from cars. The same habits apply on any drive across Harare: doors locked, windows up, nothing on the seats. source
Tips from travellers
- If seeing the giraffe up close is the point, go at the weekend and be at the viewing platform by 2pm on Saturday or Sunday, when the animals are fed game cubes. Expect company at that hour. People who would rather avoid the crowd go at other times and accept fewer sure sightings. one source
- On a hot day walk early or late, never across the middle of the day. The coffee shop opens an hour before the reserve, so an early breakfast and then the trail works well. one source
- Birders should aim for the first Sunday of the month, when BirdLife Zimbabwe runs a walk here from 6.30 to 10am. Anyone can join, and walking with people who know the calls is the quickest way into a list of over 300 species. official
- The guided horse safari is another way into the game area. Book it in advance through reception, check in a quarter of an hour early, and note the 70 kg rider limit, which rules out many adults. Rides leave at 8.30am, 11am and 3pm. official
- Follow the colours. Each loop is marked in its own colour along the route, so pick the distance at the start and stay on that colour rather than trying to read the junctions. 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 Mukuvisi Woodlands?
Everyone pays US$6 per adult and US$5 per child per visit, from 22 April 2026 to 31 December 2026.
When were these Mukuvisi Woodlands fees last checked?
We last checked them on 18 October 2026 against 5 published sources. We re-check every two weeks, but always confirm with Mukuvisi Woodlands Association (the trust that leases and runs the reserve) before you travel.
What animals can you see in Mukuvisi Woodlands?
Most visitors see giraffe, plains zebra, eland, impala, nile crocodile, tortoises, egyptian goose and grey heron. You have a good chance of seeing blue wildebeest and woodland birds (over 300 species on the birdlife zimbabwe list). Genets, civet and bushbaby are there but rarely seen.
What are the best hikes in Mukuvisi Woodlands?
Mukuvisi 3 km trail (3 km), Mukuvisi 5 km trail (5 km), Mukuvisi 8 km trail (8 km) and Mukuvisi 10 km trail (10 km). See the hikes section for times, difficulty and permits.
Mukuvisi Woodlands and the parks nearest it
| Park | International adult | Distance | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mukuvisi Woodlands | US$6 €5 | · | Mashonaland East |
| Lake Chivero Recreational Park | US$5 €4 | 30 km | Mashonaland West |
| Chinhoyi Caves Recreational Park | US$5 €4 | 115 km | Mashonaland West |
| Ngezi Recreational Park | US$5 €4 | 118 km | Mashonaland West |
Where the Mukuvisi Woodlands fees come from
- Mukuvisi Woodlands, home page (entry fees and opening hours, updated 22 April 2026)
- Mukuvisi Woodlands, Activities (trail fees, horse safaris, guided walks, function fees, updated 2 October 2026)
- Mukuvisi Woodlands, School Visits (fees for educational visits)
- Mukuvisi Woodlands, About Us (the Association and the 1980 lease from Harare Municipality)
- Mukuvisi Woodlands, page sitemap (last-modified dates: home page 22 April 2026, activities page 2 October 2026)
Open data: all park fees (CSV) · JSON (CC BY 4.0)
Cite as: Travel Africa Guide, "Mukuvisi Woodlands fees 2026", checked 18 October 2026, https://travelafrica.guide/zimbabwe/mukuvisi-woodlands/