CHIMANIMANI NATIONAL PARK,
MOZAMBIQUE
SUPPORT CONSERVATION EFFORTS IN A
BIODIVERSE WONDERLAND
“Chimanimani is a timeless place, where local
rainmakers still climb peaks to summon rain,” says
National Geographic Explorer and photojournalist
Jen Guyton, discussing one of Mozambique’s newest
national parks. Located on the country’s mountainous
border with Zimbabwe, Chimanimani National Park,
established in October 2020, is home to Mozambique’s
highest peak, the 7,992ft Mount Binga.
It was once flush with elephants, lions and other
large animals, yet decades of poaching and civil unrest
decimated wildlife populations. Small numbers of
elephants remain, as do at least 42 other species of
mammals and a dazzling array of plant and avian life. In
two recent biodiversity surveys that Jen photographed,
475 plant species and 260 bird species were identified,
along with 67 amphibian and reptile species.
Sustainable tourism activities — such as birdwatching,
hiking to forest waterfalls and overnighting at the Ndzou
Camp, a small community eco-lodge — provide up-close
views of a captivating wild place.
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