Nyanga National Park lies in the north of Zimbabwe's Eastern Highlands. One of the first national parks to be declared in the country, it contains the highest land in Zimbabwe, with green hills and perennial rivers. Most of its terrain consists of rolling downland, sometimes lightly wooded, lying at altitudes between 1,800–2,593 metres (6,560–7,544 feet). Mount Nyangani, the highest point in Zimbabwe, lies in the centre of the park and Mutarazi Falls, Zimbabwe's highest waterfall, is in the south of the park. Nyanga National Park incorporates the former Mutarazi Falls National Park on its southern boundary.
History of the park
200px|thumb|right|Stormclouds over the Kwaraguza area, acquired by Nyanga National Park in the late 1990s.
The national park is one of the oldest in Zimbabwe, established as Rhodes Inyanga National Park, a bequest from Cecil Rhodes. The original park borders extended beyond Udu Dam, along the east bank of the Nyangombe River to the north of the current park boundary. This extension was sold in the 1970s, but the Warrendale section, immediately beyond Udu Dam, had been recovered by the early 1980s.
The park nearly doubled in size with the late 1990s purchase of most of the Inyanga Block and Kwaraguza farms. These purchases expanded the national park to the north and east of Mount Nyangani, incorporating some important areas of montane rainforest, previously an enclave within the park, completed the formal protection of Mount Nyangani and the headwaters of the Pungwe River, although Nyazengu had been operated as a private nature reserve until 2000 and as unincorporated council land after the designation and acquisition of Nyazengu farm in 2000.
The current name Nyanga reflects the correct vernacular pronunciation of the area.
Features
Flora
200px|thumb|left|Nyanga landscape: [[Afromontane forest and moorland.]]
The vegetation of Nyanga is part of the Eastern Zimbabwe montane forest-grassland mosaic, within the montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion. The rainforest is found mainly on the eastern (leeward) slopes, as well as in the steeper valleys on west-facing slopes. It is dominated by Syzygium The park authorities maintain a continuous eradication programme.
Fauna
200px|thumb|right|Male [[waterbuck in the Udu area.]]
A wildlife checklist compiled over several years reveals a remarkable diversity of mammals, including occasional sightings of buffalo and lion that stray into the region from the Mozambique lowlands. Visitors are likely to see kudu, reedbuck, klipspringer and several other antelope; predators, including leopard and hyaena, are also present. The African clawless otter is common in the upper Kairezi River, in the northeast of the park.
The park is best known among wildlife conservationists for its populations of blue duiker and Samango monkeys. Neither animal is found outside the Eastern Highlands. The Inyangani river frog is an endangered amphibian found in rocky, fast-flowing streams in the montane grassland.
Lake Gulliver and the Mare, Udu, Purdon and Rhodes Dams have been stocked with trout from hatcheries maintained by the Department of National Parks. The rainbow trout is most widespread within the park's dams and streams but brown trout and American brook trout are also present.
Geography and geology
200px|thumb|left|Dolerites of the Nyangani sill, overlying Archaean granite.
The park is dominated by Mount Nyangani which lies in the centre and is the highest mountain in Zimbabwe.
The park is well watered by numerous streams and rivers. The central and eastern parts of the park form part of the Zambezi Basin. The Nyangombe River, whose tributaries include the Mare River and the Nyamuziwa River, and the Kayirezi River both flow north out of the park, ultimately to join the Mazowe River. The Pungwe River rises at the foot of Nyangani and flows southwards through the park before dropping into the densely wooded Pungwe Gorge. The Mutarazi Falls, a few kilometres south of the Pungwe Gorge, have a drop and are Zimbabwe's highest waterfall; they drop in two stages over granite cliffs into the Honde River valley, which lies outside the park and is a major tea-planting area.
Five dams have been constructed for recreation and tourist water supply: Rhodes Dam and Mare Dam on the Mare River, Lake Gulliver and Purdon Dams on tributaries of the Mare River and Udu Dam on a tributary of the Nyangombe River.
Most of Nyanga National Park is underlain by granite. The highest mountains are composed of Umkondo Group dolerite and sandstone, with the harder dolerite forming cliffs and ridges and the granite-dolerite contact often forming waterfalls. The Troutbeck dolerite sill, shown in the distance in the photograph of Kwaraguza above, was dated at 1099 Ma.
Archaeological, historical cultural sites
200px|thumb|right|Reconstructed pit structure near Rhodes Dam, Nyanga National Park, probably used as a cattle pen.
Fifteenth to seventeenth century ruins of the Ziwa people (upland culture) have been found throughout Nyanga.
Associated with the ruins are extensive agricultural terracing and irrigation furrows. Iron extraction was practised, mainly to support the complex agricultural technology.
The core areas of the park were once the private estate of Cecil Rhodes. He acquired it with the aim of growing apples and raising sheep, and spent the last years of his life at his homestead near Rhodes Dam. This homestead is now the Rhodes Museum and Rhodes Nyanga Hotel.
Boating
The park's five dams are all suitable for boating and boats are available for hire at Rhodes, Mare and Udu Dams.