Binga

The BaTonga people of the middle Zambezi came from Lake Malawi during the 15th and 16th centuries. They were isolated by the Zambezi escarpment and the rise and fall of occupying powers in the hinterland was hardly felt until the coming of the colonials and the Kariba dam.

Binga was built as an administration centre for the re-settlement of the BaTonga who were forced to relinquish their fertile valley lands. It sprawls over shore and hillside on Kariba's western edge.

Accommodation ranges from budget self-catering stilted huts by the lake, to luxury private lodges. The former District Commissioner's residence is now the Binga Rest Camp and it has a swimming pool heated by water from the nearby hot springs, a rain-making site in former times. Binga is the last supply centre and the end of the tar road, for trips to Chizarira National Park, ninety dusty kilometres away.

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