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29-715: Mutarazi Falls is a waterfall in Mutasa District in Manicaland Province , Zimbabwe . It is located in the 2,495 hectare Mutarazi National Park adjacent to the southern border of the Nyanga National Park . The water falls into Honde Valley in two tiers, at a point where the Mtarazi river flows over the edge of the eastern escarpment of Zimbabwe's highlands. Mutasa District Mutasa District has an area of 2,548 km . Watsomba

58-667: A number of schools and tertiary institutions. Honde Valley has loads of tourism potential. The area's natural beauty and cool climate are coupled with lush forests. tea estate tours at Aberfoyle and water activities in local dams, white water rafting, the Mtarazi Falls and scenic drives make this area ideal for nature tourists. the Skywalk is one of the most renowned activities that is offered by Far and Wide Zimbabwe. some people also go there for dirt bike racing. mostly in December,

87-742: A range whose highest peaks are Mt Rupere (2,030 m) and Mt Chinyamariro (1900 m) divides the Honde valley from the Nyamkukwarara Valley, which is drained by the Nyamkukwarara River, another Pungwe tributary. Steep-sided Mt Gurungwe (1,885 m), on the Mozambican border, bounds the Nyamkukawara Valley on the east. The Pungwe, Honde, and Nyamkukwarara all drain northeastwards into Mozambique . The western part of

116-808: A referral Hospital for most health centres in the Valley with major cases being referred to Mutare General Hospital which happens to be the Provincial hospital Christianity dominates in Mutasa. Most people are Catholics (Anglicans, Methodists and Roman Catholics). African Apostolic Church (AAC) known as vekwa (Mwazha) large group also is a follower of the Johanne Marange Apostolic Sect. Traditional beliefs are still prevalent, although people now practise them side-by-side with Christianity. Honde Valley The Honde Valley extends from

145-517: A total of about seven small to medium-sized metered piped water systems at Hauna , Sachisuko, Honde Army, Zindi , Samanga, Mpotedzi and Sahumani. In addition there are other smaller un-metered water supply schemes that serve a number of villages and schools. The known smaller un-metered water supply schemes are Honde “Povo” Pipe Scheme, Chingaira Piped Scheme, St Columbus Secondary School, Sagambe Primary and Secondary School, Marige Water Project, Mahobo Piped Scheme and Mupenga Gravity Water Scheme. Since

174-420: A wide range of species difficult to find in most other parts of the region, other than in neighbouring Mozambique. This fertile valley lies 850m above sea level and is one of the major tea producing areas of Zimbabwe. Specials: Anchieta's tchagra, moustached grass-warbler, red-winged warbler, black-winged bishop, red-faced crimsonwing, lesser seedcracker, singing cisticola, twinspot indigobird which parasitizes

203-455: Is also located in the District. Zimbabwe 's public health care is delivered at four levels, which are meant to function as a referral chain. The first level is the primary level consisting of Rural Health Centres, Rural Hospitals and Urban Clinics (services do not require an attending Physician). The second level is the first referral level consisting of District Hospitals. The third level is

232-506: Is divided between two Senate constituencies. Mutasa Central and Mutasa North are part of Nyanga-Mutasa constituency, and Mutasa South is part of Mutare constituency. Mutasa has a number of schools and tertiary institutions run by the Ministry of Education, Mutasa Rural District Council, Missions and Private players. Rupinda Secondary School The district has a tertiary institution at Bonda and Honde Valley Mission. Africa University

261-757: Is located in the national park. The northeastern corner of the district is in the upper watershed of the Gairezi River , which originates on Mt Nyangani and flows northward to meet the Zambezi . The Pungwe River also originates on Mount Nyangani. The Honde Valley lies south of the Nyanga Mountains, and is drained by the Honde River , a tributary of the Pungwe. South of the Honde Valley,

290-470: Is the administrative headquarters. The district is bounded on the south and southwest by Mutare District , on the west by Makoni District , on the north by Nyanga District , and on the east and southeast by Mozambique . The Nyanga Mountains occupy the northern portion of the district, and a portion of Nyanga National Park lies in the district. Mount Nyangani (2,592 m), the highest peak in Zimbabwe,

319-534: The Selbourne to Honde Valley road. During the rainy season some parts of the district are inaccessible by road due to the bad state of roads. The district council does not have the capacity to maintain gravel roads, hence the District Development Fund is now maintaining most of the gravel roads. In Honde Valley some areas are only accessible only by four-wheel-drive enabled vehicles due to

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348-399: The area is low-lying and hot it is an abundant banana, tea and coffee growing area. The well known Katiyo, Aberfoyle, Rumbizi and Chiwira Tea Estates are among those situated in the valley. However, it is also home to many small scale and subsistence farmers who have since 2011 switched mainly to Banana production. There are several non-motorized irrigation schemes in Honde valley. One of

377-522: The country, therefore, receives the highest rainfall in the country as it is located in Region 1 of the country's 5 regions with region 1 receiving the largest amount of rainfall. As the area is in the highlands, winters tend to be very cold but overall the region has a very pleasant climate. The average altitude of Honde Valley is around 900m above sea-level as compared to its immediate surroundings which rise above 1800m. This abrupt drop in topography creates

406-660: The district lies in the upper basin of the Odzi River , a tributary of the Save River . Osborne Dam is on the Odzi. The 2022 census recorded a population of 197,808 for the district. Mutasa District's economy is agriculture-based. Villagers practice semi-commercial agriculture. And the district has several plantations and estates that provide employment. Villages raise cattle, goats and chickens. They grow maize, groundnuts, sugarcane etc. and have plantations for fruit trees in

435-428: The district that offer primary health care to people from the villages in the district. In recent years as the economy of Zimbabwe has declined, there has been a shortage of drugs and equipment at the hospitals although staffing levels by end of 2010 had improved. Communities also rely heavily on traditional medicines. The major diseases that affect the people in the district include diarrhea , TB and malaria . Like

464-433: The district, the major ones being Osborne Dam on the Odzi and Nyawamba Dam in Honde Valley. The Pungwe – Mutare pipeline, which delivers water from the upper Pungwe River to the city of Mutare, passes through the district, and the district is still to benefit from water points along the route. It is proving expensive for local communities to access the piped water from the Pungwe along the way to Mutare interims of acquiring

493-472: The eastern border of Zimbabwe into Mozambique . The valley is part of the Eastern Highlands . The valley is about 130 kilometres (81 miles) from Mutare , or 110 kilometres (68 miles) from Nyanga . The Nyanga Mountains and the Nyanga National Park form the western boundary of the valley. Approaching from Mutare, the turn-off is about 50 km along the road towards Nyanga . The road into

522-459: The fields. Some of the villages are small landholder growers of coffee, tea and banana plantations. Large scale commercial plantations produce timber, coffee and tea estates. Compared with other districts in Manicaland Province , Mutasa District has better infrastructure. The district is serviced by a network of surfaced and gravel roads. The main highways are the Mutare – Nyanga A15 highway, and

551-479: The main townships inside the valley is Hauna . Hauna Growth Point now has a community Hospital. Electricity generating projects have so far been put in place which are supplying ZESA namely the Nyamhingura, Duru, Pungwe A,B & C and Hauna Power Stations. All plants are managed by Nyangani Renewable Energy (Pvt) Ltd, with an installed capacity of 27 MW; Annual average output of 80,000 Mwh. Honde Valley has

580-448: The rainfall is received. From May to the beginning of July winter season, the temperatures are very low and they may hover around minimums of 2 ˚C while From September to October during spring, it is hot with maximum temperatures averaging around 25 to 30 ˚C. Most of the rainfall experienced is of the convectional type. At time orographic rainfalls at various times of the year, in addition to the normal convectional rainfall. This portion of

609-500: The red-throated twinspot, scarce swift, pallid honeyguide, green-backed woodpecker, stripe-cheeked greenbul, yellow-streaked greenbul, silvery-cheeked hornbill, white-eared barbet, pale batis, black-throated wattle-eye, variable sunbird, bronzy sunbird, olive sunbird, yellow-bellied waxbill, grey waxbill, blue-spotted wood-dove, black-fronted bush-shrike. Habitats: Lowland and riverine forest, marsh, miombo woodland, tea estate, maize lands. Birding: There are four main birding areas in

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638-531: The rest of the country, the HIV/AIDS pandemic is seriously affecting the district. However, there has been a decrease of reported HIV prevalence rate in the past decade. Hauna hospital, run through the Ministry of Health was established in Honde valley as there was no district Hospital in the District and the only Mission Hospital at Bonda could not meet the District Health Demands. It's now

667-526: The right pipes for their irrigations. The Odzani and Smallbridge dams on the Odzani River, a tributary of the Odzi, also supply water to Mutare. Odzani dam, built in 1967, created Lake Alexander, which is also used for water recreation. In Honde Valley , water supplied from by a number of small piped systems and motorised pumps serving small towns, growth points, commercial plantations, service centres and some villages, as well as direct abstractions from

696-544: The rivers by riparian village communities not connected to developed installations. Up to 90% of the population has Blair pit latrines , and the rest have water-borne sewer system. Most of the Blair pit latrines were constructed after independence in 1980. Mutasa District is divided into three National Assembly constituencies : Mutasa Central , Mutasa North , and Mutasa South . The MPs are Trevor Saruwaka, Chido Mwadiwa, and Misheck Kagurabadza respectively. Mutasa District

725-475: The second referral level consisting of Provincial and General Hospitals. The fourth and final level is the third referral level to Central and Special Hospitals. Most of the health care facilities in the district are owned and run by the government's Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, although local communities are involved in the management of some clinics. The main referral hospitals are Hauna Hospital and Bonda Mission Hospital. There are several poly-clinics in

754-474: The spectacular Mtarazi and adjacent Muchururu Falls, local tourist attractions. The 500 square kilometres of the Honde Valley in Zimbabwe are extensively cultivated, often with gravity fed irrigation channels. Extensive use is made of the many smaller tributaries feeding into the Pungwe River in this portion of the Honde Valley. Honde Valley is one of the premier birding destinations in Zimbabwe, offers

783-482: The terrain. Most of the district is covered by wireless or cell phone networks, although mountainous areas of the district have poor reception. Land telephone lines connect most of the business centres throughout the district. Villages and business centers with telephone services have access to the internet. Mutasa District is in the Highveld, receiving high rainfall, hence there are a number of small to large dams in

812-408: The valley is tarred and twists and turns steeply as it drops 800 meters in about 20 km. Off the tarred road, there are good dust roads which service most parts of the Valley. The climate of Honde Valley falls is mostly temperate. From late October to around the end of April it is the summer months, the weather is hot and humid. Temperatures may rise up to 28 ˚C and this is the period where most of

841-537: The valley, the area around Aberfoyle Club; Gleneagles Nature Reserve above the Club, eastern Highland Tea Estate; and Katiyo Tea Estate some 25 km from Aberfoyle. The water supply for the Honde Valley comprises small piped systems and motorised pumps serving small towns, growth points, commercial plantations, service centres and some villages, as well as direct abstractions from the rivers by riparian village communities not connected to developed installations. There are

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