South Luangwa National Park

Zambia's premier safari destination

Back the 1950s, a young game ranger named Norman Carr encouraged the chief of the Luangwa Valley to set aside a portion of land as a game reserve.

Norman Carr quickly realised that photographic safaris and not big game hunting were the future for the area’s wildlife and built the first dedicated game-viewing camp. The area was established as a National Park in 1972 and it quickly became one of the finest game-viewing destinations on the continent.

Today, the park is an unspoiled wilderness with the vast Luangwa River meandering through a landscape of lush forests and open plains, glittering lagoons and verdant water holes.

It’s this varied habitat that allows for such a huge concentration of African wildlife including elephant, hippo, giraffe, lion, leopard, buffalo and many more.

It’s also our home and one that we can’t wait to share with you at Nkonzi Camp.

Wildlife

The varied habitat of the South Luangwa supports a vast number of animals.

As you wind your way across the woodland savannah, you’ll find herds of elephant and buffalo, with hippo harrumphing merrily in the Luangwa River. The main predators are lion, leopard, African wild dog and spotted hyena. Of the big cats, lion are probably the most common but there are great chances of finding elusive leopards too. African wild dog are rarer, although they den in the park and sightings have become more common in recent years. Other large mammal species include zebra, giraffe, impala, puku, kudu and waterbuck. 

Activities

South Luangwa is considered the home of the walking safari and at Nkonzi Camp, we’re proud to continue the tradition. Exploring the park on foot allows you to experience nature up close and personal, seeing things that you would miss from a vehicle. After after each walk, you’ll be even more in awe of the landscape than you were before.

We also offer morning game drives as well as all-day expeditions. Driving is the best way to spot larger game and predators in action. The South Luangwa is one of a few parks in Africa that allows night drives and we use a powerful spotlight to look for rare nocturnal creatures in the darkness.

Find out more about our safaris and activities at Nkonzi Camp.