Even if Zambia has gained enormously in importance as a safari destination in recent years, it still has the character of an “insider tip”. The main safari regions of Luangwa Valley, Lower Zambezi and Kafue National Park lure with numerous owner-managed, mostly small, camps and lodges with great wildlife and some of the best guides on the continent. The service is personal and the attention to detail and sustainability dominates.

In the heart of Zambia is the huge Lake Bangweulu, surrounded by a swamp area that was David Livingstone’s undoing. Nowadays, even Bangweulu Swamp can be easily reached by safari flight to see the rare Shoebill Stork or the endemic Black Lechwes (a rare species of antelope).
The Kasanka National Park (with the great flying fox migration in November), the Muhondo Wilderness and Shiwa Ng’andu are also in the center of the country. The latter is one of the most impressive remnants of British colonial rule in southern Africa, a utopian estate in the midst of utter wilderness that is slowly but surely reclaiming its terrain.
In western Zambia, Liuwa Plains National Park is another safari gem with only one permanent camp in the entire park. In October and November, the second largest wildebeest and zebra migration of the entire African continent takes place on the then dry grass steppes, which is also accompanied by tsessebes (antelope species) and buffalo.

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