As you plan your travel itinerary to Zimbabwe, you might be thinking that you will only be going on a safari tour where you might be standing up close and personal with some supposedly wild animals. Although it is true that Zimbabwe is famous for its wildlife and joining a safari tour is the best way to have a taste of what Zimbabwe is all about, the country also has a rich ancient culture that was revealed when the ruins of the Great Zimbabwe was discovered. While there are other ruins that gave evidence to an ancient civilization that existed in Zimbabwe eons ago, such as those in the Khami Ruins National Monument, Dhlo-Dhlo and Naletale, the Great Zimbabwe is the most famous and the most important.

Traveling to Zimbabwe is a delight for the senses, what with its wildlife, vast savannahs, roaring waterfalls, and other natural wonders. Out Travel Guide Zimbabwe gives you a sneak peek into some of the best places to go to in Zimbabwe as well as the things that you can do while in each location. In this particular section you will get to learn about some of the things that are truly significant to Zimbabwe – national icons that embody the country’s culture and history. You will read about the Zimbabwe Bird, soapstone sculpture also found in the ruins that up till now remains a puzzle as to its function and symbolism; the nature-created Balancing Stones that defy gravity and the Flame Lily, which is the national flower of Zimbabwe, which like the country itself is bold, vibrant, resilient and very lovely.

Great Zimbabwe National Monument

Great Zimbabwe is the largest of the city ruins that can be found in southern Africa and sprawled over 1,800 acres of land, with a radius of about 320 kilometers. It is believed that Bantu-speaking ancestors of the Shona, aboriginal people living in the area during that periodconstructed it around the 11th century AD by. The construction of the walled city continued until the 15th century. The ruins were encountered by European travelers and colonizers during the 1800s. Out of the more than 300 such walled cities around Zimbabwe, the Great Zimbabwe is the most impressive, due to its undulating walls that follow the terrain. The walls were built without mortar and used only pieces of granite blocks laid one on top of the other so closely that they fit together like jigsaw puzzle pieces. The walls of the city extend for about 820 feet and at some places reaching a height of 36 feet.

It was first believed that the stone structures were created by foreigners until further excavation and study revealed that it is of African origin. The name Zimbabwe seems to be derived from the Shona words Dzimba dza mabwe, which literally translates to “great houses of stone.” The stone buildings, said to be the seat of government and the residence of royalty of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe are considered as the oldest and largest structures found in southern Africa

While very little is known about the builders of the Great Zimbabwe, researchers and archeologists believe that there can be as many as 10,000 living inside the enclosure although most of them live far away from the larger stone buildings, thought to house the 200 to 300 members of the nobility. It is also thought that the walls were built to protect the privacy of the royal families and as a symbol of authority.

Three architectural groups form the ruins – the Great Enclosure, the Valley Complex and the Hill Complex. It seemed that the original seat of power was in the Hill Complex where a temple was built. It was later moved to the Great Enclosure since this had an inner wall that enclosed several structures and a conical tower that is 5.5 meters in diameter and 9.1 meters high. The structures and the tower were enclosed by an outer wall. The Valley Complex is further divided into the Lower and Upper Valleys and showed occupations in different periods of time and believed to be the residential areas for the citizens.

Zimbabwe Bird

Parts of the attraction of Great Zimbabwe, aside from its amazing serpentine-like walls, are the eight Zimbabwe Birds that were carved from soapstone. These stone sculptures were found in the ruins and considered as one of Zimbabwe’s icons and can be found in the national flag of the country. The original sculpted birds were placed on top of columns that were about three feet tall. The birds were also small, averaging only about sixteen inches in height. They look very interesting because the avian features were mixed with human features. Human lips replaced the beaks and the birds’ claws were substituted with feet with five toes. They were originally located at the Eastern Enclosure within the Hill Complex. The precise function of these eight Zimbabwe birds are still not known, but for the Zimbabwe government and its people, they represent governance, hence the inclusion in the national flag.

Balancing Rocks

Balancing Rocks are all over Zimbabwe. There are geological rock formations that were hewn by nature. What makes them so remarkable is the fact that these huge granite rocks, positioned on top of other rocks, like tall pillars that were hewn on the sides and cut into several pieces, stay perfectly balanced without other rocks on the sides supporting them. Through weathering and erosion of the softer rocks surrounding the harder granite, beautiful natural rock sculptures were formed. The Banknote Rocks, so called because their image appears on the Zimbabwean paper dollar bills, are those found in Epworth, which is about 14 kilometers away from the Harare, the country’s capital city. These were the first Balancing Rocks formation that was discovered.

However, the most impressive ones are those that are at the Matobo National Park located in Matabeleland. On the range of the Matobo Hills is an incredible grouping of Balancing Rocks that closely resembles human figures and had been named as the Mother and Child. You can clearly see the form of a woman with a young child whose arms were outstretched to the side.

Flame Lily

The Flame Lily is a stunning blossom, with its colors similar to the flag of Zimbabwe, which is predominantly red and yellow, with touches of green. It is a climbing lily that grows from a bulb and the plant can reach a height of eight feet in natural rocky but partly shaded surroundings.

Its beauty comes from its coloring as well as its general shape. It is almost round in shape with the separate petals curving inwards, although the top of the petals does not touch each other. The wider part of the petals near the top is flame red in color. The tapering bottom part of each petal has distinct bright golden yellow coloring in the middle and around its edges, with some parts blending with the red. The contrasting colors thus form a very radiant bloom. At the base of the flower are the pistils and stamens in shades of yellow and green that extend out and around the base, looking like the hands of a clock. The large flower, usually measuring about five inches across, is supported by a thick green stem. The flower is hardy and a favorite of floral designers and with its bold and bright colors and its hardy nature, the Fire Lily resembles the beautiful and wild Zimbabwean Savannah and its residents – hardy, resilient, brave and silently creeping to reach the top.