Kariba

Some 367 km north-west of Harare,  the town of Kariba was established in the mid-1950s to house the 10 000 personnel involved in constructing Kariba Dam. The Dam was built from 1955 to 1959, harnessing the waters of the mighty Zambezi River for hydroelectric power for use by Zimbabwe and Zambia. The Dam wall is 128 m high and 570 m long. At its widest point, the Dam holds 180 600 million cubic meters of water, making Kariba the largest man-made lake in the world at the time of its construction.

The Italian company which was contracted to build the wall also built the unusually designed Church of Saint Barbara on Kariba Heights. Kariba has become one of Zimbabwe's major tourist resorts and has an airport, several hotels/lodges, camping facilities and provision for many water sports, such as boating, water skiing, fishing and angling.

The lake itself forms the Lake Kariba Recreational Park and there is access by boat or aeroplane from the town to the Matusadona National Park and Mana Pools National Park.

There are a variety of tours available from Kariba  And remember it’s easy to ask for your own special needs to be met!