Umtali was founded in 1897 as a fort, about 8 km from the border with Mozambique. It was referred to as the “Gateway to the Eastern Highlands”.
It moved to its present (third) location be closer to the main Beira – Salisbury railway which reached there in 1898. It is an important manufacturing centre producing furniture and paper products from local timber and processing tea, coffee and fruit from estates throughout the Eastern Highlands.
