Bvumba Mountains

The Bvumba, whose name means mist, rise southeast of Mutare on the Mozambican border and are almost always in cloud, which supports patches of Afromontane rainforest among the pine and eucalyptus plantations. The Bvumba Botanical Garden holds proteas, azaleas and a large collection in landscaped grounds, and the forest patches at Bunga and Seldomseen hold birds that occur nowhere else in the country, which draws serious birders. The range straddles the border and the forest continues on the Mozambican side, which is part of why the bird list here is unlike anything else in the country.

What you actually see

• The botanical garden - landscaped grounds with proteas, azaleas and specimen trees.
• The rainforest patches - Afromontane forest at Bunga and Seldomseen.
• The rare birds - species found in Zimbabwe only in these forests.
• The mist - the near-constant cloud the range is named for.

When to go

April to October is the dry season, though mist here is constant in any month. Birding is best in the early morning. Winter nights are cold.

Honest expectations

Mist closes the views most of the time; the name is accurate. Forest patches are small and fragmented. Some of the older hotels are run down.

Nearby

Mutare is northwest, and Chimanimani is south.