The Century Long Journey of Harare

Traveling is a great pleasure during holidays in order to get a relief from similar locations and daily routines. If affordable, it is advised that one must travel to foreign lands as this is the best rejuvenation therapy for exhausted minds and bodies. However, not everyone wants to spend a big amount of money just for one holiday plan, hence it is important to look out for money saving. Harare is hence the perfect choice for holidaying as the city’s exotica is simply incomparable to that of any other city in the world. Furthermore, cheap flights to Harare are very easily available, thus going to Harare over a holiday is a complete package for the much needed peace of mind.

Harare is the capital city of Zimbabwe and also its largest city. It is the commercial and social hub of the country and to quite an extent Harare is a business center of Zimbabwe. With developmental projects and steadily growing economy, Harare has become one of the finest cities of Africa.

The history of Zimbabwe does not date back to very ancient times like those of many other African countries, but the city is now over a hundred years old. During these times, the city has matured into a world class cosmopolitan city mixing in many African and European cultures. The city is home to a spectacular skyline that boasts many beautifully designed skyscrapers. Some of these buildings shave been trend setters for European and American architects for having introduced environmentally friendly construction blended with an enthralling architecture. However, what remains of more interest to tourists are the colonial buildings of Harare. These Victorian buildings have been refurbished yet their originality and charm has been retained, this makes the city of Harare, grand and elegant. The many parks and gardens in the city are what mainly get Harare recognized. Together, all these beautiful construction works and greenery coupled up with serene environments make Harare an ideal holiday resort.

It was in 1890 that British came to this area to settle a fort and military individuals. The fort was named Fort Salisbury while informally, the settlement was called Salisbury. In 1897, Salisbury became a municipality and in 1935, its status was further raised to that of a city. In 1953, Salisbury became the capital of Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and remained as such until 1963. With the formation of Southern Rhodesia, Salisbury was appointed as its capital. It then served as the capital of Republic of Rhodesia followed by Zimbabwe Rhodesia and finally of Republic of Zimbabwe. On Zimbabwe’s second Independence Day, Salisbury was renamed to Harare.

A number of airlines serve Harare International Airport which include; British Airways, Air Botswana, Air Malawi, Ethiopian Airways and South African Airways. Flights to Harare are also operated by the national carrier of Zimbabwe, known as Air Zimbabwe, from many countries such as China, UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and Zambia.   

Queen Victoria National Museum, Queen Victoria Library, National Gallery, National Archives and National Botanic Gardens are some of the best offerings of Harare flights. Restaurants like Café Espresso, Avondale, Kwa Mereki and Shangri-La and hotels like Meikles Hotel, Rainbow Towers and Bronte Hotel prefect the trip to Harare.  In short, Harare has the maximum value among the other Zimbabwean cities.