Honde Valley

The Honde valley drops away below the Nyanga escarpment towards the Mozambican border, and the difference in altitude changes everything: the highlands above are cool grassland and pine, while the valley floor is warm, wet and planted with tea and bananas on estates that run for kilometres. The Mutarazi falls come off the escarpment into the head of the valley, and villages and smallholdings fill the ground between the estates.

What you actually see

• The tea estates - large plantations covering the valley floor.
• The escarpment - the wall dropping from the highlands into the valley.
• The Mutarazi falls - the waterfall coming off the escarpment at the valley head.
• The banana smallholdings - the crop grown between the estates.

When to go

April to October is the dry season and best for the roads. The valley is warm and humid year round compared with the highlands. Estate visits need arranging.

Honest expectations

Roads into the valley are steep and rough in places. Estate visits must be arranged in advance rather than dropped in on. Malaria risk in the valley is higher than in the highlands.

Nearby

Mutarazi Falls are above, and Mutare is southwest.