Nyanga is a town in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. At one time, the town was known as Inyanga.

Location

It is located in

Nyanga District Nyanga District is located in Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe. The administrative center is Nyanga village. The 2012 National Zimbabwe census reported its population to be 126,599 and being 52.2% female and 47.8% male. Geography Nyanga District ...

Manicaland Province Manicaland is a province in eastern Zimbabwe. After Harare Province, it is the country's second-most populous province, with a population of 2.037 million, as of the 2022 census. After Harare and Bulawayo provinces, it is Zimbabwe's third-most de ...

, in northeastern

, close to the International border with

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. This location lies immediately north of

Nyanga National Park Nyanga National Park lies in the north of Zimbabwe's Eastern Highlands. One of the first national parks to be declared in the country,Nyanga National Park. Undated pamphlet, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority it contains the highest land in Z ...

in the

Eastern Highlands :''"Eastern Highlands" also refers to Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea, and part of the Great Dividing Range, Australia.'' The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe ...

, about , by road, north of

Mutare Mutare (formerly Umtali) is the most populous city in the province of Manicaland, and the third most populous city in Zimbabwe, having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban area, urban population of 224,802 and approximately 260,567 ...

, the nearest large city. This location lies approximately , by road, east of

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, the capital of Zimbabwe and the largest city in that country. The coordinates of Nyanga are:18° 12' 36.00"S, 32° 44' 24.00"E (Latitude: 18.2100; Longitude:32.7400). Nyanga sits at an elevation of , above sea level.

Overview

Mount Nyangani Mount Nyangani (formerly Mount Inyangani) is the highest mountain in Zimbabwe at . The mountain is located within Nyanga National Park in Nyanga District, about northwest of Mutare. The summit lies atop a small outcrop of rock around above the s ...

, the highest mountain in Zimbabwe, lies about , southeast of the town. Its highest peak rises to approximately , above sea level. Nyanga is primarily a tourist town and is a popular

tourist destination A tourist attraction is a place of interest that Tourism, tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of ...

with its

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

golf courses A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

, mountain hikes and

holiday resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resor ...

s. The

Mtarazi Falls Mutarazi Falls is a waterfall in Mutasa District in Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe. it is located in the 2,495 hectare Mutarazi National Park adjacent to the southern border of the Nyanga National Park. At , it is the highest in Zimbabwe, second ...

, inside Nyanga National Park, are the highest

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

s in the country, cascading about , from top to bottom. The surrounding areas also contain many

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

archaeological remains such as pit structures, stone forts, terraces and pathways. Inside the town is the bustling township of Nyamhuka, around which there is an ever expanding growth of high and

medium-density housing Medium-density housing is a term used within urban planning and academic literature to refer to a category of residential development that falls between detached suburban housing and large multi-story buildings. There is no singular definition of m ...

. Nyanga is also host to the largest army training camp in Zimbabwe, hosting recruits from across Africa.

History

The Nyanga region has long been regarded as a place of great natural beauty. In 1896,

Cecil John Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Brit ...

wrote to his agent: "Dear McDonald, Inyanga is much finer than you described.....Before it is all gone, buy me quickly up to , and be sure to take in the ''Pungwe Falls''. I would like to try sheep and apple growing." Rhodes displaced the inhabitants and the chieftainship of the wonderful place- the Sakarombes of the Lion-Zebra (Shumba-Nyambizi totem) who found refuge in the semi-arid areas of Nyanga in Ruwangwe. Nyanga has been made famous in Scotland by the 1960 Hamish Henderson song Freedom Come-All-Ye as the birthplace of an unnamed black man who will overthrow the Afrikaaner Government.

Population

The current population of Nyanga is not publicly known. According to the 1982 Population Census, the town had a population of 2,973. In 2004, the population of the town was estimated at 4,850. The next national population census in

is scheduled from 18 August 2012 through 28 August 2012.Next Population Census In Zimbabwe Scheduled For August 2012

Image gallery

Image:Nyanga village.jpg, Nyanga village. Image:Nyanga rural.jpg, Rural areas north of Nyanga town. Image:Nyanga terracing.jpg, Ancient terracing in the Nyanga north area. Image:Ziwa ruins wall.JPG, Ziwa ruins site north of Nyanga.

References