Expert Reviews of Kasungu National Park (2 Reviews)

Malawi’s second-largest national park naturally harbors a greater diversity of large mammals than any other protected area in the country. This is partly because it shares an open border with Zambia’s famously wildlife-rich Luangwa Valley. Despite this, most animal populations in Kasungu are thin, dispersed and skittish as a result of poaching. On my most recent visit, in May 2024, I saw warthog and a few types of antelope – notably sable, puku and waterbuck – and heard plenty of hippos from my banda in the inexpensive Lifupa Lodge, which overlooks a pretty dam of the same name. The park management also showed me recent photo trap images of lion, leopard and African wild dog, but told me that these large carnivores are very seldom seen, even on night drives. More than 200 elephants were translocated to the park in 2022, and these reputedly often visit the dam during the dry season. Park management, with funding and support from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), is

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busy erecting fences around the entire domestic boundary to reduce conflict between wildlife and local communities. For the time being, Kasungu and Lifupa Lodge are probably better viewed as offering a low-key, low-cost bush retreat than as a full-blown safari destination. Having said that, once the fences are fully erected, the capacity for wildlife to move across from Zambia, together with a likely future program of reintroductions, mean that this vast park has potential to be one of the finest in Malawi.