RUINS OF ZIWA

The Ziwa Ruins (formerly the Van Niekerk Ruins, named after their discoverer) are located in the northwestern part of Nyanga National Park and extend over 80 km. Very secluded and little restored, they consist of enclosures and low stone walls, old housing platforms, as well as terraces for agriculture, scattered over several thousand hectares. If the whole seems at first very confused, a general structure takes shape after a certain time of observation and wandering. Some local guides offer their services and wait for the curious in a small museum (the Ziwa Site Museum), located near the entrance gate leading to the remains. The little research carried out on the site seems to indicate that the builders of this complex (^17th-18th centuries) belonged to the Karanga farming community. This hypothesis of the existence of a powerful civilization that extended its empire over this vast Zimbabwean territory is most tempting, but it is nevertheless too idealistic. In reality, these constructions seem to be the work of a few groups of farmers changing location every four or five years, as the soil is depleted. The impressive quantity of walls and terraces would thus be the consequence of two centuries of migrations and successive constructions. Following the collapse of a bridge on the way to the ruins, an all-terrain vehicle is necessary to access them.