Bulawayo: Railway History, Art and Natural History

Bulawayo invites you to explore cultural history and nature in a single trip. The National Railways Museum traces the early railways and the planned network from Cape Town to Cairo; the National Art Gallery is housed in a Victorian-era building. At the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, a walk-through mine is a distinctive feature of the geology gallery. Nearby, the Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage offers another destination with a very different focus. This variety can help you weigh up your interests before choosing a holiday rental.

Handwritten Records of Railway History

The National Railways Museum in Bulawayo was founded in 1972. It preserves well-kept handwritten documents about the planned railway network from Cape Town to Cairo and the day-to-day operations of the early railways. The collection brings two scales together: the far-reaching idea of a network between two cities and the practical workings of early rail operations. Visitors interested in transport history can learn about both the network plan and the everyday work of the railways. The records connect a grand historical vision with documentation of its practical context, offering a distinct perspective on Bulawayo’s history beyond a single date.

Art in a Victorian-Era Building

The National Art Gallery in Bulawayo is housed in a Victorian-era building. This combination of art and architectural history adds a different cultural focus to the written records at the railway museum. When planning your trip, you can decide whether you would rather focus on historical documents or on art in a historic building. Especially when you have several interests, the contrasting focuses of these two places offer helpful guidance: railway history on one hand, art and architecture on the other.

Geology and Other Offerings at the Natural History Museum

The geology gallery at the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe includes a walk-through mine designed to evoke a real gold mine. Here, a reconstructed mine takes centre stage, while the National Railways Museum offers a different perspective on the past through handwritten documents about network planning and early rail operations. The museum also offers guided tours, occasional talks and conservation clubs. Check the current arrangements before your visit. If you’re choosing your trip by theme, you can also consider geology and conservation alongside art and railway history.

A Wildlife Focus Outside the City Centre

The Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage provides a home for orphaned, abandoned and sick wild animals. It is 25 km from Bulawayo city centre and adds a distinct wildlife focus to the museums. Its location is another factor to consider in your planning: Chipangali is near the destination, but outside the city centre. If you want to visit both the museums in Bulawayo and this site, you can take the distance into account when choosing where to stay, rather than treating all the destinations as equally close together.

Choose a Holiday Rental Based on Your Interests

When looking for a holiday rental in Bulawayo, you can specify what you’d like to focus on: will your trip mainly cover railway history, art and natural history, or would you also like to visit Chipangali? Your answer may help determine which location suits your plans. For Chipangali, the 25 km distance from the city centre is a useful point of reference; the museum themes offer a different focus within Bulawayo. For families planning together, this contrast makes the choice more tangible: written records about the railway, art in a historic building, a walk-through mine or an interest in wildlife each centre on different interests.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Redcliff, Mutare, Masvingo, Victoria Falls, Hwange, Marondera, Kwekwe, Mashava.

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