Modern day Masvingo sits on the cusp of what was once the heart of the Zimbabwean kingdoms, trodden by the nation’s indubitable Iron Age monarchs. Today, it serves as a gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Great Zimbabwe, with a clutch of rough and ready backpacker hostels and cafes that cater to culture hungry travellers from across the country and continent. Outside of town a breathtaking landscape of bulbous stone rises and kopjes is punctuated by baobabs and dusty plains, eventually giving way to the Shagashe and Kyle reserves, where Masvingo tour guides show travellers the elusive white rhino. Back in the iconic ruins of Great Zimbabwe ,visitors can bed down in campsites under the stars before heading out to explore the great monolith bulwarks of the so-called Great Enclosure, the mysterious carvings of Zimbabwean birds and the granite structures of the mighty Valley Complex.