Zambia

Where the smoke thunders

Although landlocked, Zambia is a country blessed by water. Aside from being home to the iconic Victoria Falls, the rivers Luangwa, Kafue, and the great Zambezi meander through the landscape creating smaller waterfalls and feeding lush vegetation and habitats for all sorts of wildlife.

Zambia’s vast unspoiled landscapes are a perfect backdrop for a wide range of adventures: from undisturbed game drives and river cruises to white water rafting, fox jumping and bungee jumping for those in search of adrenalin.

Capital City

Lusaka

Currency

Zambian Kwacha

Official Languages

English, Bemba, Nyanja, Lozi, Tonga, Luvale, Lunda, and Kaonde

International Airport

Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport (Livingstone), Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (Lusaka), Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport (Copperbelt)

Climate

  • November to March – hot and rain season. 86 – 66 degrees Fahrenheit (30 – 19 degrees Celsius)

  • Mid-March to Mid-May -hot. 82 – 50 degrees Fahrenheit (28 – 15 degrees Celsius)

  • Mid-May to August – Cool, dry and sunny. 79 – 45 degrees Fahrenheit (26 – 7 degrees Clesius)

  • September to November – very hot. 93 – 64 degrees Fahrenheit (34 – 18 degrees Celsius)

Victoria Falls Water levels: Can vary depending on the yearly rains.

  • Jan/Feb: Rainy season and the Zambezi water level starts to rise. When water levels are still relatively low you can appreciate the scale of the Falls without being overwhelmed by spray with plenty of rainbows.

  • Mar/Apr/May: The wet season comes to an end and the Falls enter full flood creating a vast spray.

  • Jun: As the water filters down, the Falls drop down to mid-level water. This is a great time to visit the Falls as you can have the best of both worlds.

  • Jul/Aug: Widely considered to be the best time to visit the Falls. Water spans the full width of the Falls (up to 1.7km wide) but as it is at a medium level of flow it can be perfectly captured.

  • Sep: The Falls move from mid-level to low level. This is the perfect time to appreciate the scale of the gorge and its geological features.

  • Oct/Nov/Dec: Water levels fall to their lowest level with little water flowing over the Eastern Cataract on the Zambian side. Water continues to flow on the Zimbabwean side.

Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park

Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is Zambia’s smallest national park, located between Livingstone and the Zambezi river.

It is named after the Lozi language name for the Victoria Falls: Mosi-oa-Tunya, The Smoke that Thunders. Apart from the falls this UNESCO World Heritage site is a safe haven away from predators for an abundance of herbivores and Zambia’s entire white rhino population.

South Luangwa

South Luangwa National Park is in east Zambia’s Luangwa River valley. Wildlife gathers around the Luangwa River and its oxbow lagoons. The Muchinga escarpment creates a barrier at the park’s Northwestern border, keeping a high concentration of animals in the park making it easy to spot the more elusive species like Zambia’s rare Thornicroft’s giraffes and Crashway’s zebras.

Kafue National Park

Zambia’s oldest and largest National Park, Kafue is Zambia’s oldest, largest national park and it covers a large part of western Zambia. Large herds roam the shore of Lake Itezi-Tezhi, The Kafue River, and its tributaries. Typically elusive leopards are a surprisingly common sight in the park’s forest areas. Despite its size and prominent location only two hours drive from Livingstone, it is still largely unexplored and untouched by mass tourism.

Lower Zambezi National Park

Lower Zambezi National Park is at the border with Zimbabwe opposite Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools Reserve. Herds of up to one hundred elephants roam the valley around the Zambezi river which attracts hippos, nile crocodiles, herbivore herds and the predators that follow, all which can be perfectly viewed from a leisurely cruise or canoe ride.

Liuwa Plain National Park

“Liuwa” means “plains” in Lozi language, and the plains originally served as a hunting ground. The park is home to a spectacular wildlife migration, involving thousands of blue wildebeest, zebra an other grazers, which gather at the beginning of the Wet season.

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