Practical questions
Mana Pools National Park: frequently asked questions
The questions first-time Mana Pools visitors ask, answered plainly and with current 2026 figures.
How much does it cost to enter Mana Pools?
International visitors pay $24 per person per day, SADC visitors $18 and Zimbabweans $8, under the February 2026 ZimParks tariff. Unlike Hwange, there is no discount for sleeping inside the park: the fee is the same either way. A foreign-registered vehicle adds $3 per day if you stay inside the park, or $10 as a day visitor. The fee is charged per day rather than per night, so a three-night stay is charged for four days.
When is Mana Pools open?
Roughly April to mid-November. The park is effectively closed from around mid-November or December until March, because rain makes the black-cotton access roads and dirt airstrips unusable. There are no official gazetted closure dates, so treat the edges of the season as gambles and confirm with the Mana Pools station office (+263 718 058 794) for your year. The earliest camps open on 1 April; most private camps run May to mid-November.
Can I really walk without a guide?
Yes, and it is the park's defining freedom, but under strict conditions: you need a walking permit from the park office, you must stay on the open floodplain (riverine forest and thick bush are off-limits to unguided walkers), you walk entirely at your own risk, and children under 16 may not walk at all. Keep 30 metres from elephant, lion and painted dog, and never tag along behind another group. If you lack solid African wildlife experience, hire a ZimParks ranger at $12 per person per hour or book a camp with a professional guide.
Can I self-drive to and in Mana Pools?
Yes. It is 384 km from Harare, six to seven hours, with the last 74 km on gravel; a high-clearance 4x4 is required. Fill up at Karoi, the last fuel, and check in at Marongora on top of the escarpment before descending, where you pay your entry fees. Inside the park you must stay on designated roads: off-road driving is banned outright, and motorbikes, overlanders over 5 m and buses over 25 seats are prohibited entirely.
Are night drives allowed?
No. Night driving and spotlighting are prohibited inside the national park, and everyone must be in camp from 18:00 (May to July) or 18:30 (August to October). The only night drives in the area run on private concessions at the park's edges, at Kavinga and on the Ruckomechi concession. Any guide implying night drives are a standard Mana activity is misinformed.
How do I book the ZimParks campsites and lodges?
Not online: zimparks.org.zw has no working booking system. Book by email (info@zimparks.org.zw) or phone (+263 8677707627 head office, +263 718 058 794 Mana Pools station), or through a registered ZimParks booking agent. Sites and lodges are sold whole and must be prepaid; there are no per-person walk-in rates any more. The two 8-bed lodges and the exclusive campsites book out up to a year ahead, so start early.
Will I see the standing elephants?
Maybe, and no honest camp will promise it. Rearing on hind legs to reach winterthorn pods is a learned behaviour shown by several bulls, at its peak from September to November when the pods drop. Elephants themselves are effectively guaranteed (100 per cent of dry-season visitors see them); the standing display is opportunistic. Named bulls such as Boswell appear in recent guest reports, but no operator can guarantee a particular animal.
Is canoeing safe with all those hippos?
Canoe safaris here run daily through the biggest hippo and crocodile concentrations in Zimbabwe, which is exactly why they are led by qualified river guides who read the pods and pick the lines. You paddle where the guide paddles. Trips range from a half day to multi-day trails sleeping on sandbanks, and motorboats are banned inside the park, so the river stays quiet.
What should I bring that people forget?
US dollars in cash for fees, firewood and fishing licences, because card facilities at Marongora and Nyamepi are unreliable. All food, drinking water and fuel from Karoi onwards, since the park sells nothing but firewood. Rubbish bags, because you must carry every scrap out and can be fined $100 at the gate if you cannot show it. And for October: genuine heat tolerance, since the valley floor routinely tops 40°C.