UNCHARTED® · Outposts · Matobo Hills, Zimbabwe

Amalinda Lodge

Safari Lodges

Amalinda Lodge: A Wilderness of Granite

Amalinda channels the captivating culture andpowerful spiritual energy of the renownedUNESCO World Heritage Site Matobo Hills.

Global Safari Award 2025 Global Safari Winner · 2025Most Plush Cave Dwelling — “Flintstone Approved”Our own award, given by UNCHARTED®

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Why it's unique

Explore San Bushman cave paintings, hike lichen-covered boulders to breathtaking views, and track black and white rhinos on foot.

Home to rock formations called “kopjes” — which date back over 2 million years — and built in an ancient Bushman’s shelter, each elegant and exquisite room at Amalinda has its own distinct design structured around the rock formations.

1990Established

2016With UNCHARTED^®
since

3UNCHARTED^®
journeys

Go for the rock, not the game count. Nine suites set into the granite, San rock art on the doorstep, and rhino tracked on foot — Matobo is a different safari texture than the savanna camps, and the architecture is the headline. Two to three nights, paired with Hwange or Victoria Falls. Family-run, and it shows.

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The stay

Amalinda at a glance.

Type: Safari Lodge
Ideal For: Families · Couples
Experience: Multi-Sport · Wildlife · Culture
Geography: Savanna
Collection: Classic Safaris · Family Trips
When To Go: Year-round

Where it is

Matobo Hills, Zimbabwe

Amalinda Lodge

Matobo Hills, Zimbabwe

Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Matopos Hills are defined by dramatic granite outcrops.

How To Get There

Take a private road transfer from the Hwange region (3-4 hours), or from Bulawayo Airport (1 hour).

Flora & Fauna

Known for rhinos, this area also has the world’s densest leopard population, thanks to abundant hyrax (which make up half of the cat’s diet).

Cultural Impact

A palpable sense of ancestral spirituality and eons of history, combined with the experience of sleeping in a cave where the San bushmen did, make Amalinda a prime destination.

Journeys

Journeys built around Amalinda.

Zimbabwe11 days, 10 nightsGranite, Elephants, and the Falls

Johannesburg
Amalinda Lodge
Hwange National Park
Zambezi National Park

Eleven days for two through Zimbabwe's oldest hills, its biggest elephant country, and the river at the end of both.

See the itinerary

In the magazine

Zimbabwe Stories

StoryUNCHARTED^®'s Top 8 Reasons to Safari in ZimbabweAfrica's most underrated safari country is making a comeback after three decades as a no-go zone due to political and economic strife. The safari circuit is one of its primo assets. Here are some of the main reasons for that.Read the story

StoryZimbabwe: There’s No Place Like HomeUNCHARTED® co-founder Sandy Cunningham revisits sites of childhood family memories while creating new ones with a friend on the “Shady Lady Safari.” She finds the country — which she calls Africa’s most underrated safari destination — in the throes of an inspiring comeback from decades of inhospitability due to political and economic turmoil.Read the story

StoryThe Long Way HomeFrom the slopes of Table Mountain to the mighty Zambezi to the flooded Okavango — follow along on our co-founder’s homecoming safari full of UNCHARTED^® Outposts, up-close wildlife encounters, and childhood locales revisited.Read the story

Let us be your guides in planning your safari.

Tell us what you are dreaming of, and our crew will help you plan every part of it, from the first idea to the day you fly home.