Safari Destinations >> Zambia Safaris >> South Luangwa National Park
South Luangwa National Park
South Luangwa National Park is the premier safari area in Zambia and certainly one of the top safari areas in all of Africa. Wildlife quantities are extremely good in South Luangwa National Park, and it is one of the best areas for frequent leopard sightings. Elephant and buffalo quantities can be large while hippos and crocodiles are seen in some of their densest concentrations with safaris focused along the Luangwa River. South Luangwa National Park is very good to see puku along the river and known for its large breeding colonies of Carmine bee-eaters.
Unlike most National Parks, South Luangwa National Park has satellite bushcamps where you can have the entire park to yourself and the rules allow the freedom of both walking safaris and night drives allowing for complete immersion into the wild of the park. At the remote bushcamps there is an exclusive game viewing experience that rivals the quality experience available in Botswana private concessions.
South Luangwa National Park is the birthplace of walking safaris, pioneered in the 1950’s and the area remains the ideal location for a safari on foot. Placing your feet on the ground provides a connection to the African wilderness that is just not possible riding in a vehicle. Unlike most parks, the wildlife at South Luangwa National Park is accustomed to humans on foot and that allows for excellent game viewing from foot, often including the large mega fauna species such as elephant, buffalo, giraffe, and possibly lion, as well as the chance to discover the small delights that are missed on game drives. Sometimes the great walking reputation scares off those who prefer to game drive but South Luangwa National Park is home to top quality game drives as well, including night drives. In fact, South Luangwa National Park is one the two best night drive areas that I’ve experienced. Some very cleverly placed photo hides and the chance to microlight over the park are a couple of special interest features for some visitors.
High season game viewing in South Luangwa National Park is during the dry season from July through October. As with most destinations the local managers and guides that I know all treasure the shoulder seasons when the park looks its best and there is almost no tourists but they still see lots of wildlife so they encourage November/December and May/June as preferred times. Between January and May many camps close and there can be some heavy rains but this emerald season is becoming more popular and there are even some specialty safaris offered at that time such as a safari with the carnivore research team with an emphasis on looking for African wild dogs which are more commonly seen during this low season.
South Luangwa will typically be a featured component in almost any Zambia itinerary and it also can easily deliver an entire safari as a single destination utilizing different camps within the park.