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Jacaranda trees turn Harare's avenues purple every October, and that lilac canopy is the first thing many visitors remember about Zimbabwe's capital. The city sits high on the central plateau at roughly 1,500 metres, which keeps the climate mild for most of the year, with warm afternoons and cool, clear nights.
Harare began in 1890 as Fort Salisbury, and its first trading streets grew up at the foot of the granite kopje that still overlooks the centre. The city took its present name in 1982, two years after independence. Today it is Zimbabwe's largest city and its political and business hub, with a compact grid of office towers around Africa Unity Square and leafy northern suburbs such as Borrowdale.
The best of a visit is cultural: Shona stone sculpture at the National Gallery, the crowded lanes of Mbare Musika and the national monument at Heroes' Acre. Green escapes include the National Botanic Garden and the giraffes of Mukuvisi Woodlands, while Lake Chivero and the rock art of Domboshava make easy day trips.
Built in the early 1980s on a ridge west of town, this national shrine honours fighters of the liberation war and leading national figures. Granite terraces hold their graves, a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with bronze statues, and a tall tower crowned by an eternal flame. Carry photo ID.
Opened in 1996 and designed by Mick Pearce, this downtown office and shopping block stays cool without conventional air conditioning. Its design borrows from termite mounds, drawing cool night air through hollow floors and venting warm air through rooftop chimneys. See the glass-roofed atrium.
Laid out in the 1890s as Cecil Square, the city's central green was renamed in 1988 to mark the unity accord between Zimbabwe's two main liberation-era parties. Paths cross between flowerbeds and old trees, flower sellers line its edge, and Parliament and the Anglican cathedral face it.
Harare's Anglican cathedral stands beside Africa Unity Square, built of warm-toned local granite to a design by British architect Herbert Baker. Work began in 1913 and continued in stages for decades, giving it a solid, fortress-like profile. Visitors are welcome outside services.
Opened in 1957 beside Harare Gardens, the national gallery is the best introduction to Zimbabwe's celebrated stone sculpture movement, shown alongside painting, textiles and photography from across the country. Exhibitions change regularly, and more works stand in the grounds. Allow an hour.
The largest park in central Harare stretches between the National Gallery and the Monomotapa hotel, with broad lawns, tall shade trees and paths that fill with office workers at lunchtime. When the jacarandas and flame trees bloom it is one of the most colourful corners of the city.
In Mbare, the city's oldest high-density suburb, this sprawling market and long-distance bus terminus has traded produce, crafts and second-hand goods for generations. Stalls pile up vegetables, dried fish, baskets, carvings and cloth. It is crowded and loud, so go in the morning with a local guide.
This rocky granite hill on the western edge of the centre is where Harare's first trading streets took shape in the 1890s, before business shifted east. A road and footpaths climb to a viewpoint over the downtown grid, the suburbs and distant hills. Go in the clear morning air and in company.
In the northern suburb of Alexandra Park, the national botanic garden is laid out largely to show plants from Zimbabwe's vegetation zones, from dry lowveld woodland to moist highland forest. Wide lawns and mature trees make it a quiet place to walk, and early mornings bring plenty of birds.
A few kilometres east of the city centre, this reserve protects indigenous msasa and miombo woodland along the Mukuvisi River. Walking trails and a raised viewing platform let you look for giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and antelope, and guided horseback rides allow a closer approach. Birdlife is rich.
About 30 kilometres southwest of Harare, this reservoir on the Manyame River supplies much of the capital's water and sits within a recreational park run by the parks authority. Giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and antelope graze among granite outcrops on the southern shore, and locals come to picnic.
Around 30 kilometres north of Harare, this huge granite dome is a favourite short hike, with smooth rock slopes leading to wide views over farmland and hills. A cave near the base holds San rock paintings protected as a national monument. Come for sunset and wear shoes with grip.
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