Alan is a renowned Africa expert and has authored many Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the guide to Zambia.
Alan is a renowned Africa expert and has authored many Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the guide to Zambia.
Alan is a renowned Africa expert and authored the Lonely Planet guidebook to Zambia.
Alan has authored the Lonely Planet guide to Zambia.
The park is set in the Zambezi Valley, on the northern bank of the mighty Zambezi The wildlife is plentiful, with four of the Big Five easily spotted (rhino is absent). The real attraction is canoeing on the river. There is nowhere else where you can see such variety and sheer numbers of animals from this exciting vantage point.
Buffalo and elephant are abundant and spend time on the small islands and sandbanks in the river. The park is home to some impressive tuskers and big herds regularly cross the river. Lion and leopard are easily spotted and you might come across wild dog as well. For those paddling, most memorable are the thousands of hippo that inhabit the river channels and the enormous crocs lying on the banks.
The park’s main feature is one of Africa’s most famous rivers – the Zambezi. The northern boundary of the park is the Muchinga escarpment, which forms an impressive backdrop to the river in the valley. Sandy flats, mopane woodland and acacia shrubs fringe the waterways. Leadwoods, figs and ebonies are just some of the beautiful trees that dot the landscape.
Weather & Climate
Lower Zambezi has a clear-cut Wet season (November to April) when the temperatures are generally hot, and afternoon showers sweep in to temporarily take the edge off the heat. The park’s Dry season (May to October) is a milder period when vegetation starts thinning. It gets colder as you climb up from the valley, though the park’s uppermost reaches aren’t accessible to visitors.
Most visitors to Lower Zambezi arrive between July – midway through the Dry season (May to October) – and the end of the Dry season. This is when wildlife watching is at its best in the park. During the Wet season (November to April), the heat and humidity can be truly oppressive.
Alan is a travel writer and author of over 20 Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the guides to Southern Africa and Zambia & Malawi.
Meanderings in Lower Zambezi
4/5
Protecting woodland along the Zambezi riverbank in the south of Zambia, this beautiful park is prolific in wildlife. Your best off flying into one of the camps inside, otherwise it’s a long drive in through a Game Management Area (GMA)....
The world I live in got turned off and I experienced the world.
5/5
My family and I stayed with Tusk and Mane Safaris. The Lower Zambezi National Park, with the company, offered no Wi-fi, no internet, no phone signal and solar power only. It re-booted our world. 530am wake up. We were busy dawn ‘til...