Gorongosa

Gorongosa national park is a very scenic wilderness area with many unique species and 400 bird species. The park lies at the southern end of the Great Rift Valley in the Beira Corridor under Mount Gorongosa which feeds its rivers and creates seasonal flooding.

Varied habitats include acacia grasslands, savanna, miombo and montane forest on the plateau, rainforest in scenic limestone gorges and dry sandy forest. Lions, elephant, buffalo, sable, oribi, bushbuck, reedbuck, kudu, nyala are regularly seen, along with hippo and crocodile around Lake Urema.

During the mid 20th century, Gorongosa was one of southern Africa's great game parks with large herds of elephant and buffalo and good sized populations of lion and antelope. These were decimated during the Civil War to leave a fraction of previous numbers but none entirely eradicated. Recent years have seen a major project to restore the park.

Since 2006, large numbers of zebra, wildebeest and buffalo have been re-introduced to restore the Gorongosa ecosystem. Work with the local community has seen education and health programs, creation of jobs in the park and work with local farmers.