The Vumba Mountains

Mutare is Zimbabwe's fourth largest city, and charms all comers. Cradled by granite mountains, bedecked with flamboyants, it also has a large aloe and cycad collection in its park. Mutare's museum includes a transport gallery; horse-drawn carriages and steam locomotives are just two of the attractions.

Just outside the city, there's the National Trust area of Murahwa's Hill with its famous Gong Rock (so named because it is shaped like an old dinner gong and, when banged with a stick, resounds like one).

The road to the Vumba winds upwards from Mutare climbing 609 metres to the junction at Cloudlands. If Nyanga's air can be likened to dry champagne, then that of the Vumba is a cabernet: rich, heady, mellow. It is kind to vegetation; the Vumba Botanical Gardens are 30 ha of terraces crammed with flowers and shrubs. Although the spring garden in August is a joy, the end of the year is equally breathtaking when the pinks, blues and lilacs of hydrangeas, fuchsias and begonias are put on display.

Set in the Vumba Mountains, the Leopard Rock Hotel affords a spectacular view and is well worth a visit. Before it, far below, lies the tropical beauty of the Burma Valley; behind it is Chinyakwaramba, "the hill that sat down". Folk lore has it that the people who once lived here displeased the spirits, who caused the mountain to crumble and envelop them. Today, though, no bad vibes remain to disturb the tranquil loveliness of this spot.

Winters (May to September) are like luscious Mediterranean summers with warm, sunny days and cool, clear nights. There is never any snow, not even in the eastern highlands, but overnight frosts and freezing temperatures are not uncommon anywhere on the plateau.

Most of Zimbabwe's rain falls in brief afternoon deluges during electrical storms in the summer months (October to April) and bring little relief from the humidity.