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Wildlife Safaris in Kafue National Park
Zambia's oldest and largest national park, a vast wilderness in the west of the country whose seasonal Busanga Plains draw large lion prides, cheetah, red lechwe and wattled crane, with the Kafue River threading game-rich woodland to the south.
Why here
Kafue is Zambia's oldest and largest park, more than 22,000 square kilometres of miombo woodland, rivers and floodplain that see a fraction of the visitors of the country's smaller reserves. Its star is the Busanga Plains in the far north, a seasonal wetland that draws big lion prides famous for climbing trees, cheetah hunting across the open grass, and thousands of red lechwe and puku, with wattled crane and other waterbirds in the shallows. To the south the Kafue River and its tributaries hold elephant, buffalo, leopard, sable and roan antelope and hippo, viewed on game drives, guided walks and boat cruises. The sheer size and low traffic make Kafue feel like a genuine wilderness, and it works well combined with the Busanga fly-camps in the dry-season peak.
Best months
The dry season from June to October is best across the park, and the Busanga Plains camps run only in the driest months, roughly July to October, when the floodwater has fallen enough to reach them. The plains flood in the rains and are inaccessible from about November to June. Cheetah and cats on the open plains are most active in the cool early mornings. The southern river sections stay accessible longer and offer boat cruises when the water is up.
Getting there & around
The southern park is reached by road from Lusaka in around three to four hours, while the remote Busanga Plains in the north are reached by light-aircraft charter to airstrips such as Busanga or Chunga and then a game-drive transfer. Busanga camps operate a short season, roughly July to October. Book drives, walks and boat cruises through your camp. Distances inside the park are large, so plan on internal flights or long transfers to move between the northern plains and the southern river.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Green Safaris
OutfitterGreen Safaris runs eight properties across Zambia and Malawi and positions itself as a low-impact, solar-powered operator. In Kafue National Park it owns Ila Safari Lodge on the Kafue River, which introduced Zambia's first electric game-drive vehicle and silent electric boat cruises, and the elevated Chisa Busanga Camp out on the Busanga Plains, whose nest-shaped rooms sit above the seasonal floodplain and open only in the dry months.
Mukambi Safari Lodge
OutfitterMukambi Safari Lodge was established in 1994 on the bank of the Kafue River in the centre of the park, at one of the few points where the main road crosses Kafue. It runs three properties: the riverside main lodge, Busanga Plains Camp set up in 2008 out on the northern floodplains, and Fig Tree Bush Camp added in 2015 among miombo woodland and lagoons. Game drives, boat cruises and walking safaris run from all three.