South Luangwa National Park

The country of Zambia lies landlocked in the tropics, located at the northern edge of the region known as ‘southern Africa.’ Shaped like a butterfly and covering about 752,610 square kilometers, Zambia is roughly three times the size of the United Kingdom. South Luangwa National Park – located in eastern Zambia – was declared a national park in 1972. As a protected game reserve for over 65 years before that, the park was never subjected to the degradation of unregulated mass tourism, thus sustaining its pristine wilderness.

The Luangwa Valley is undoubtedly the best known of Safari Destinations in Zambia. ‘The Valley’ forms the southern tip of the Great Rift Valley and covers and area of just over 9050 sq.km. The remoteness and geography of the region create a natural catchment area for wildlife with a steep ‘Muchinga’ escarpment on western side rising almost 1000m above the valley floor and the crocodile infested waters on the Luangwa River on the eastern boundary of the park with its many ox-bow lagoons and shady ebony groves. The Valley can rightly claim its boast of having the highest game densities in Africa. Best known for its Elephant’s from books like ‘Valley of the Elephants’ by Norman Carr who also pioneered the first commercial Walking & Nocturnal Safaris.

South Luangwa National Park is regarded by many wildlife experts as the ‘Best’ Game Park in Africa At this point you may be wondering what it is that draws so many wildlife enthusiasts and safari connoisseurs to this particular area, often returning to the same camps many times over. Accompanying the reputation for a very high quality of guiding in this area, South Luangwa’s concentration of animals is some of the most dense in all of Africa.

The park offers a multitude of game that will satisfy any safari bucket list. It is home to more than 50 mammal species including most famously – Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Wild dog, Hyena, Buffalo, Kudu, Puku, Impala, Bushbuck, Waterbuck, Thornicroft’s Giraffe, Cookson’s Wildebeest (both are unique to the park ) and over 400 bird species including the nesting site for thousands Carmine bee-eaters in the sandy banks of the Luangwa river where the highest density of Nile crocodile & Hippo can be found anywhere in Africa. You’ll want to pack your binoculars and a camera so you can capture your sightings of these amazing creatures. And because this park offers day and evening game drives, which is unique in the world of safari, a whole other nocturnal realm is opened up for your viewing excitement.

It is the favourite ‘stomping’ ground of experts like David Shepherd the famous wild life Painter and Home to African Pioneers like Norman Carr and Robin Pope. There are several established ‘operators’ within the region.

Pros & Cons

• Excellent wildlife viewing
• Game drives, night drives and walking safaris offered
• Lots of accommodation options
• The sky gets very hazy in the Dry season
• The Mfuwe area can get very busy at certain times

Best Time to Go July to October (Animals are easy to find)

High Season July to October (Busy and high-season rates apply)

Size 9,050km² / 3,494mi²

Altitude 482-1,687m / 1,581-5,535ft

For further details or booking enquiries please contact us.

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