Other traditional industries include timber, papermaking, commerce, food processing, telecommunications, and transportation.

[3] In addition the city serves as a gateway to the scenic Eastern Highlands, nearby Gorongosa National Park, and the Mozambique coast.

[4] Although the city was founded in the late nineteenth century, the region has a long history of trading caravans passing through on the way to the Indian Ocean, from ports such as Sofala, to inland settlements, such as Great Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is also renowned for its soapstone carvings and figurines which are evidence of these trade routes, dating as far back as the late African Iron Age (c. 900 AD) right up to the colonial period.

[5] The soapstone figures, which are both anthropomorphic and zoomorphic, might have been part of a votive offering, as they were discovered near what appeared to be an altar.

Mutare is home to several tourist attractions such as, the Mutare Museum, the Utopia House Museum dedicated to Kingsley Fairbridge, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Murahwa Hill, known for its rock paintings and Iron Age village, Cross Kopje with a memorial to Zimbabweans and Mozambicans killed in World War I and a nature reserve Cecil Kopje and Tigers Kloof.

Mutare is served by rail with daily passenger and freight links to Nyazura, Rusape and Harare.

There are three small aerodromes; the smallest is at Mutare Provincial Hospital, a very small light aircraft strip for emergency evacuation (now defunct), a light plane aerodrome in Sakubva near Mutare Teachers College, and the Grand Reef Airport just outside the city at Irene.

The average annual temperature is 19 °C, surprisingly low for its moderate altitude (about the same as Harare which is 360 metres higher.)

This is due to its sheltered position against the mountain ridge of Cecil Kop which encourages cool breezes from lower altitude to the east and south.

[4] Spring can feature "four seasons in a day" weather, but from March to June it is generally settled and mild.

Due to its maritime influence, Mutare's temperate climate stands out considering its latitude.

In the past, as was done across Southern Africa during the colonial period, people were segregated to suburbs according to their racial ethnicity.

The suburb of Avenues is found just east of the city centre on the way to Tiger's Kloof and Murambi, bordering Morningside.

Then more recently developed after Yeovil is Westlea (the majority all streets in Westlea are named after Australasian cities, (e.g. Canberra, Auckland, Sydney, Perth and Christchurch) and Florida (the streets in Florida have English Kings' names, e.g. Henry, Alfred, Richard, George), as well as the high-density suburb of Chikanga, which was constructed in phases, beginning in the late eighties.

South of the railway tracks, is the working class suburb of Sakubva, which contains nearly half of the city's population despite an area of less than four square miles.

Nearby Fern Valley, is home to the new state university, the Manicaland College of Applied Sciences.

A game park called the Cecil Kop is located in Tigers Kloof and also lacks proper management.

[6] There are no shanty towns, shacks or squatter camps in Mutare as they are illegal and residents could face penalties or demolition for not building houses to code.

The A3 motorway leads inland towards Harare and also passes through Rusape and Marondera, while the A9 turns southward into the southern Eastern Highlands and Chimanimani.

The nearest international gateway is in, Harare some 214 km (133 mi) west.there is the Aerodrome close to sakubva and the Grand Reef Airport in Irene just a short distance outside the city.

[14] The main activities of the area are farming farming- forestry, dairy, horticulture, mining, manufacturing, services - the city's name Mutare is derived from "metal" Utare possibly gold which used to be smelted by the indigenous population for centuries - and forestry.

The major timber produced is pine, sydney blue gum, black wattle, and some hardwoods on a smaller scale.

The rail system however requires revamping and also including flyovers tunnels and or underpasses to avoid interaction with road traffic.