All activities / Wildlife Safaris / South Luangwa National Park
Wildlife Safaris in South Luangwa National Park
The park in eastern Zambia where the walking safari was invented, a stretch of the Luangwa River valley famous for dense leopard, elephant and buffalo, huge hippo pods and more than 400 bird species, watched on foot with a licensed guide as much as from a vehicle.
Why here
South Luangwa is the birthplace of the walking safari, the format the conservationist Norman Carr pioneered here in the 1950s, and it remains one of Africa's finest big-cat and wilderness parks. The Luangwa River and its oxbow lagoons concentrate extraordinary game: one of the continent's highest leopard densities, large elephant and buffalo herds, endemic Thornicroft's giraffe and Cookson's wildebeest, packs of endangered African wild dog, and hippo pods hundreds strong. You explore it the way it was first opened up, on foot behind an armed licensed guide reading tracks and small signs, as well as on day and night drives that turn up leopard, civet and genet after dark. The valley holds more than 400 bird species, and the dry-season concentrations from June onward are among the most reliable game viewing on the continent.
Best months
The dry season from May to October is prime, as the bush thins and animals crowd the shrinking river and lagoons, with September and October very hot and the most concentrated wildlife. Walking safaris run mainly in this window and stop in the wet months when the valley floods. The emerald green season from December to April brings lush scenery, newborn antelope and superb birding but disperses game and closes many bush camps. Mornings and late afternoons are the productive windows, and nights are cold in June and July.
Getting there & around
Most visitors fly to Mfuwe airport, which has scheduled flights from Lusaka, and transfer to camps inside the park or on the surrounding game management area. Camps run their own drives and walks, so book activities through your camp. Walking safaris require a licensed guide and an armed scout and are for the dry season. The main gate is near Mfuwe, and remote bush camps in the park's interior are reached by road transfer or light aircraft. Nights are cold in June and July, so bring warm layers for early drives.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Robin Pope Safaris
OutfitterRobin Pope Safaris is a family-run company founded in 1986 and now in its fortieth year, with seven camps and houses in South Luangwa including Tena Tena, Nsefu and Nkwali. It built its name on walking safaris in the park where Norman Carr invented the format, and its guides still lead multi-day mobile walking trips along the Luangwa River. The company also operates in Malawi and Zimbabwe from its Zambian base.
Shenton Safaris
OutfitterShenton Safaris was established in 1992 when Derek Shenton built Kaingo Camp with his family, and it is still owned and run by Derek and his wife Jules. It operates Kaingo and the smaller Mwamba Bush Camp in a private stretch of South Luangwa, and is best known for a network of five permanent photographic hides, among them the Hippo Hide, the Elephant Hide and the Carmine Bee-eater Hide. The Shentons are a third-generation Luangwa conservation family.