Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, [email protected]
JUST 2km from the Great Zimbabwe Ruins lies an identical facility, the Lodge at the Ancient City, whose structure resembles that of the World Heritage Site.
The Lodge at the Ancient City is a 19-luxury room facility exuding the cultural touch of the Great Zimbabwe Monument with its stone walls, thatch grass roofs and paintings that invoke memories of the ancient ruins.
The Great Zimbabwe Ruins are located about 25km from Masvingo town and it is a national monument that was proclaimed in 1937 and enlisted a World Heritage Site in 1986.
The ruins were built over four centuries from 1150AD to 1550AD by the Rozwi State and is the largest and oldest of several stone wall structures that are dotted across Central and Southern Africa.
Great Zimbabwe, located in the valleys in Masvingo’s Chief Mugabe area, is one of the key tourism draw cards alongside similar Khami Ruins outside Bulawayo, Matopo Hills also outside Bulawayo, Mana Pools in Mashonaland West and the majestic Victoria Falls.
The Lodge at the Ancient City is a perfect lodging for people that visit the heritage site, as they get to continue with the local history in the comfort of their luxury rooms.
From the Lodge at the Ancient City, one can have a perfect view of the Great Enclosure and conical tower on the southern side and the country’s 3rd biggest inland dam, Lake Mutirikwi on the northern side.
Upon entering the premises, right from the gate, one is taken a few steps back in history to the historic era of the Great Zimbabwe Kingdom by the local environment.
The lodge was built on a granite outrock as it crops out of the natural vegetation giving a view of the Great Zimbabwe Monument.
It offers accommodation, conferencing, team building, guided cultural and game tours, and other special functions, with traditional dance and music from resident groups.
The Lodge at the Ancient City was one of the exhibitors at the recent Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo in Bulawayo where it sought to reach out to the source market to attract more clients and grow the industry.
Speaking at the recent Hlanganani Expo, the lodge assistant manager in charge of marketing, Ms Ropa Mushoorwa said the Lodge at the Ancient City is the best place to be.
“If you are by any chance planning to come to Zimbabwe, Great Zimbabwe is the place to be and we will host you at the Lodge at the Ancient City. We were so happy to be at Sanganai/Hlanganani Expo where we met buyers from African countries and internationally. It was a pride to be able to represent Great Zimbabwe as we marketed ourselves as the Lodge at the Ancient City,” said Ms Mushoorwa.
She said the lodge has 19 ensuite lodges all built with the theme of the Great Zimbabwe monuments.
She said there are a number of in-house and outdoor activities.
“Lodge at the Ancient City is a luxury lodge so all our rooms are executive, 15 of them are double and four are family rooms accommodating adults and children. We are a perfect lodge that caters for travelling groups, individuals, partners, families, and mostly coming for adventure.
“We offer activities such as the tour of the Great Zimbabwe where tour guides take clients around narrating the history. Those who want fishing go to Lake Mutirikwi where there is also sunset boat cruising and a beautiful chance to see wildlife closer to the lake and in the Kyle Recreational Park,” she said.
Clients also have a chance to visit the nearby Sikato Lion Park and have a scenic drive to the Mutirikwi Dam Wall as well as do bush and nature walks as well as cycling.
Some can also view the white rhino while others are taken as far as Tugwi Mukorsi Dam, Zimbabwe’s biggest inland dam and Gonarezhou National Park.
Ms Karen Kunodziya, the lodge’s receptionist, also speaking at the same expo said the facility is a perfect place for nature lovers.
She said it is the only lodge that has got the view of the ruins.
“We are located 30km away from traffic and industrial noise to the serene natural environment characterised by the cool natural breeze and sounds of birds and wild animals. Our lodge is different in the sense that it was built replicating Great Zimbabwe ruins hence the structure, the architecture is all different from others.
“It was built around nature as construction did not temper around much with the nature and you will find that some of our rooms have rocks and trees inside and some show caves and that is all refreshing,” she said.
Dishes are both exotic and traditional, offering a variety of pure Africa cuisine including wild fruits as dessert, with occasional game meat from the small game around.
Clients include locals, corporates, families and regional and international clients.
-@ncubeleon
Online Reporter