| Mount Nyangani | |
| Other Name: | Mount Inyangani |
| Elevation M: | 2592 |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] |
| Prominence M: | 1515 |
| Map: | Zimbabwe |
| Label Position: | left |
| Listing: | Country high point Ultra |
| Location: | Zimbabwe |
| Coordinates: | -18.3°N 32.8417°W |
| Easiest Route: | Hike |
Mount Nyangani (formerly Mount Inyangani) is the highest mountain in Zimbabwe at 25920NaN0. The mountain is located within Nyanga National Park in Nyanga District, about 110km (70miles) north-northeast of Mutare. The summit lies atop a small outcrop of rock around 40-1NaN-1 above the surrounding area. The remainder of the peak is a broad moor of mainly rolling hills and plateau with an area of about 8 km2. The edges of this plateau then fall steeply to the east and west sides. The mountain vegetation is largely composed of heath around the summit plateau with evergreen forest along the wetter eastern slopes and grassland to the western side. Annual rainfall totals are high (around 22000NaN0) but long spells of dry weather occur during the winter period of May to August. Due to its relatively low altitude and tropical location, snowfall is very rare, last recorded in August 1935.[2]
The mountain is composed of an upper sill of dolerite and sandstone, with the harder dolerite forming cliffs and ridges. The dolerite sill and the sediments underlying it are probably part of the Umkondo Group.[3] The Umkondo Group dolerite sill north of Nyangani, on the Kwaraguza Road, has been dated at 1099 Ma [4]
The mountain can be accessed from four base points within Nyanga National Park:
(1) The official car park, at the base of the Tourist Route. This is reached from Circular Drive.
(2) The Mountain Club of Zimbabwe hut, on the Kwaraguza Road, accessed via Circular Drive.
(3) Nyazengu Substation of Nyanga National Park, accessed via a road which goes south from just before the official car park.
(4) Gleneagles Substation of Nyanga National Park, accessed via the Circular Drive, Kwaraguza Road and the Gleneagles road or from Troutbeck via Nyafaru.
The peak can be reached within 1–3 hours by anyone of average fitness. This ascent brings the hiker to an altitude of about 2200-1NaN-1 and the remainder is mostly walking across the gentler gradients of the summit plateau. The hazards here are produced by bewilderingly fast weather changes that can switch from sunny skies to thick fog, and under these conditions several fatalities have occurred due to hikers losing their way and falling down ravines. There are three ascents that follow paths:
The mountain can also be ascended using the following routes which do not have paths or markings:
The above are all walks or scrambles, without rock climbing involved. However, caution is advised, especially on unmarked routes, as the weather may change very rapidly: descent of cloud can result in visibility of less than 50-1NaN-1. This may well be the cause for a number of disappearances on the mountain, such as that of two teenage children of the then Minister of Finance, Tichaendepi Masaya.[5]
Three rivers have their sources on Mount Nyangani: the Nyamuziwa River, the (Kairezi) Gairezi River and the Pungwe River. The first two are tributaries of the Mazowe River, which is itself a tributary of the Zambezi River.
The Nyama River, a tributary of the Kayirezi, falls off the main plateau in a waterfall on the northeast of the mountain and the Gairezi Falls are located on the east edge of the main plateau.
The fauna of the area is described under Nyanga National Park. Additional information:
Iron Age ruins have been found on Little Nyangani and on a hill west of the summit, the latter better-preserved,[9] but not on the summit plateau itself.
The film Mysteries of Mount Inyangani looks at some of the mysteries and myths about the mountain.[10]