Chirinda Forest Reserve- Travel Tips

What to See, How to Plan & Tours

Chirinda Forest Reserve, nestled on the slopes of Mount Selinda in Zimbabwe's Manicaland province just south of Chipinge, protects the southernmost remnant of tropical rainforest in Africa and holds deep ecological and botanical significance. Stretching over approximately 950 hectares, its canopy peaks at 40–55 meters and shelters the towering "Big Tree", an ancient Khaya anthotheca estimated to be up to a thousand years old and Zimbabwe's tallest native tree. This inimitable forest, sustained by orographic mists and rainfall, is the type locality for several endemic and threatened species—including Swynnerton's robin and the Chirinda apalis—and houses a rich mix of flora and fauna merging Afromontane and coastal forest lineages.