By Anesu Chakanetsa

ZIMBABWE is a land of beauty.
‘Africa’s paradise’ and a ‘World of wonders’ are phrases that have been used to aptly describe this nation of greatness.
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in Southern Africa known for its beautiful scenery, dramatic landscape and diverse wildlife, much of it within parks, reserves and safari areas.
And along the Zambezi River, the magical Victoria Falls make a thundering and breathtaking 108m-drop into the narrow Batoka Gorge.
Downstream of this magnificence are Matusadona and the Mana Pools national parks, home to swaggering hippos, brooding rhinos as well as mesmerising birdlife.
But all this beauty in its expansiveness is just but a speck of what the country has to offer.
Several ‘small’ attractions remain unnoticed and their significance ignored.
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or man-made beauty, offering leisure, adventure and amusement.
The Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry defines a tourist attraction as a place which is unique in appearance and history, and where passers-by get attracted and are ready to pay money for touring the place.
And the country has many of these natural and man-made attractions which unfortunately are not known or have not been adequately marketed.
It is unfortunate that when whites colonised the country, they identified only a few sites such as the Victoria Falls, the Great Zimbabwe, Matopo Hills and the big national parks and made them the only major attractions in the country.
They popularised these at the exclusion of others.
And visitors from other countries are only made aware of these big attractions again at the exclusion of all others.
But there are several other places in the country boasting unparalleled magnificence, full of historical significance, cultural value and natural beauty.
Some 27km north of Harare is the exquisite Domboshava Caves, a great scenic beauty of balancing and mythic granite rocks.
These formed the epitome of Shona culture and activities before colonisation of the country.
At the caves are kidney-shaped stones as well as another which resembles a human toe which is dubbed ‘God’s Big Toe’.
It is said back then, people made prayers to Musikavanhu as well as hold cultural ceremonies at these stones.
In the caves are rock paintings depicting the Shona people’s way of life.
Some of the cave paintings are said to date back almost 6 000 years.
The caves are rich with the history of our people but are rarely visited as they are not being adequately marketed.
In Chipinge there is the scenic and breathtaking Chirinda Forest.
It is home to the famous, gigantic tree, the Khaya Anthotheca or Nyasa Redwood — which is popularly known in the area as the ‘Big Tree’.
The tree is in the middle of Chirinda Forest.
It is sad that the tree is being vandalised as people use pieces of metal and wire to etch their names on the tree.
To the west of the ‘Big Tree’ is the sacred ‘Valley of Giants’ which hosts the magical ‘Three Sister Trees’, three trees so similar they have been described as triplet sisters.
The forest is home to some indigenous trees that have disappeared elsewhere as well as numerous varieties of birds and snakes.
But very few people visit the area and those who visit in most cases just happen to stumble upon the place.
The Nyanyadzi Hot Springs are also another gem that remains unexplored.
The springs have water said to be good for improving health, with some believing that just coming into contact with it brings luck.
Some throw coins and stones in the water to attract better fortune.
The whole Eastern Highlands is a wonder with a series of high elegant mountains from Chimanimani, Vumba right up to Nyanga.
But the Eastern Highlands are not in some of the brochures that advertise the ‘must-not-miss’ attractions in the country.
Many are not even aware of the famous balancing rocks 13 kilometres southeast of Harare, off Chiremba Road, in Epworth.
While the rocks have been used as scenery by many filmmakers and photographers, they have not been aggressively marketed as a tourist destination.
The rock formations are a natural occurrance in a perfectly balanced state without other support. The Balancing Rocks have been used as a metaphorical theme to explain the importance of development. The rocks featured on the Zimbabwean dollar.
Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry acting permanent secretary, Irvine Murombedzi said effort was being made to ensure these places are known. “Last year we travelled to some of these unknown places as a ministry so that we start to catalogue them and bring them to the attention of the world,” said Murombedzi.
“In 2015 the World Tourism Day was held at Matendera Ruins in Buhera, a potential tourist attraction that can attract many people.”
To promote and legitimise these ‘unknown’ tourist attractions, the ministry has come up with a ‘Community Based Tourism’ programme which educates locals and institutions about their places of interest.
Institutions such as schools and universities have been engaged to promote and boost tourism by exploring these places.
The Ministries of Tourism and Education are collaborating to clarify, emphasise and teach the history of these places and are advocating the maintenance of these small but significant places.
“It is the duty of everyone, elders and the young, to protect our heritage from vandalism and falsehoods that arise from our enemies,” said Murombedzi.