Maleme Rest Camp
Self-catering lodges, chalets and camping · Maleme Dam, centre of the park · ZimParks
A drawing, because nobody has sent us a photograph of Maleme Rest Camp yet. Send five and this page changes the same week.
Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (ZimParks)
The ZimParks hub on the east shore of Maleme Dam: self-catering lodges with kitchens, chalets with a fridge and two-plate stove on shared ablutions, and a campsite with braai places. There is a small shop and wifi at reception, but bring your own food. The lodges are being renovated one at a time, which is why the tariff prices renovated and unrenovated units differently, and the shared chalet ablutions draw complaints in reviews.
Pros and cons
Pros
- The only place the $10 sleeping-inside entry rate is certain
- Pomongwe Cave is a short drive from camp
- A small shop and wifi at reception
- Self-catering lodges have full kitchens, not just a braai
- Camping from just $12 a person
Cons
- Chalet ablutions are shared, and reviews complain about them
- Lodges are renovated one at a time, so quality varies
- Bring your own food; only a small shop on site
- Unit counts differ between sources; confirm what you have booked
What's here
- Campsite
- Self-catering
Read from Maleme Rest Camp's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Matobo National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryThe ZimParks rate for guests sleeping inside the park.
- $10per person, per day
- VehicleForeign-registered vehicle, at the staying-inside rate.
- $3per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $69 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Sleeping inside the boundary is what keeps that low. $10 if you sleep inside the park, against $18 a day for anyone driving in from outside.
World's View and the painted caves need a separate NMMZ ticket, $10 per non-resident adult, which is not included in these sums.
The full fee schedule for Matobo National ParkRates at Maleme Rest Camp
From $12 per person camping. International rates from the ZimParks 2026 tariff: camping $12 per person; chalets $55 (1 bedroom) and $70 (2 bedrooms) per unit; lodges $90 to $150 per unit depending on size and renovation; Fish Eagle lodge $160; Imbila and Black Eagle executive lodges $235. Extra bed $35. Zimbabwe residents pay less on every line.
Self-catering. You cook. Nothing else is included unless the entry says so.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked in September 2026. Where a lodge publishes its own rate we use it, with its date; for Amalinda, Big Cave and Shashani, which do not print rates on their own sites, the figure comes from a named reseller or agent and says so. The price filter and sort use per-person rates only; lodges that price per room or per unit show their rate in the text but carry no sortable figure. ZimParks entry is extra almost everywhere: $18 per international adult per day driving in, $10 sleeping inside, and the NMMZ ticket for World's View and the caves is $10 on top.
Questions about Maleme Rest Camp
Is Maleme Rest Camp good for families?
We found no published minimum age for Maleme, so ask when you book. Two-bedroom chalets and larger lodges suit a family self-catering, though chalets share ablutions and only have a two-plate stove. Confirm which unit type, chalet or lodge, before you pay since kitchens differ.
What does the rate at Maleme Rest Camp include?
Camping is $12 a person; chalets run $55 to $70 and lodges $90 to $235 per unit, all international rates from the 2026 tariff, with Zimbabwean residents paying less. Rates cover the unit only; bring your own food, since there is just a small shop at reception. Park entry is extra.
Can you self-drive to Maleme Rest Camp?
Yes. Matobo is about 30 km south of Bulawayo on tarred and gravel roads, and ZimParks recommends four-wheel drive for some areas of the park. Maleme itself sits centrally on the east shore of Maleme Dam, with no airstrip, so driving is the only way in.
How much does it cost to enter Matobo National Park to stay at Maleme?
Entry is charged separately from accommodation: $18 a day for an international adult driving in, or $10 to sleep inside the park, plus $10 for the NMMZ ticket covering World's View and the caves. Confirm current figures with ZimParks, since rates are reviewed periodically.
How do you book Maleme Rest Camp?
Book through ZimParks at info@zimparks.org.zw or +263 242 707625. Unit counts are reported differently in different places, 15 to 18 lodges and 5 to 6 chalets, so confirm exactly what you are booking and whether it has been renovated, since the tariff prices older and newer units differently.