North & South Luangwa National Parks

The Luangwa Valley

In the east of the country is Zambia’s most exceptional game-viewing area. South and North Luangwa National Parks lie alongside the Luangwa River, the former occupying around 5,000m² of the valley floor and the latter about half that. The Muchinga Escarpment provides a natural boundary to the west of both parks with the terrain sloping gently down to the east, where the broad, meandering Luangwa sets their eastern boundaries.

A blanket of mature woodland with beautiful tall trees, bushes and grasses covers the flat floodplains and harbours many interesting species of flora and fauna. The nutrient-rich soils sustain lush and diverse vegetation including stunning forests of ‘cathedral mopane’, giant red mahogany trees along the river, occasional Natal mahoganies and dense groves of African ebony trees. Elsewhere there are open grass plains scattered with natural salt springs where multitudes of crowned cranes can be found.

North or South?

Whether it is South or North Luangwa that has the best game is a slight bone of contention. Opinions vary depending on whom you speak to – but whatever people say, they are both truly spectacular game-viewing areas and the main difference between them is more to do with accessibility and the fact that in North Luangwa you are encouraged not to drive but to enjoy the park on foot with a guide. The northern park can be very difficult to get to and it is probably best only to include it as part of a longer itinerary.

A spectacular range of wildlife

Most of the animal species in Luangwa inhabit very specific vegetation zones. Depending on where you are in the park, you are sure to come across elephant, buffalo, impala, puku, bushbuck, waterbuck, eland and kudu. Endemic to the valley are Crawshay’s zebra and Luangwa is also home to the wonderful Thornicroft’s giraffe with its striking contrastive colouration and white legs. In the grasslands, you might see oribi and, at night, the small grysbok. Away from the river, there are reedbuck and Lichtenstein’s hartebeest and if you venture further towards the hills near Muchinga, you could catch a glimpse of sable. Endemic to Luangwa is the Cookson’s wildebeest, although it is predominantly found in North Luangwa.

The predators are lion, leopard, spotted hyena and wild dog, the most common of these being lion, that congregate in huge prides. Night drives yield excellent sightings of leopard but you are unlikely to see cheetah as sightings are extremely rare in this area. Rivers are infested with great numbers of hippos and crocodiles.

Luangwa attracts a prolific birdlife too – and in the rainy season, pockets of the park become frenzied breeding colonies. Of particular note are the nests of the fabulous yellow-billed stork with its distinctive pink breeding plumage. Egrets, herons and storks flock to the area in the wet season to pick amongst the green shoots that appear in and around the shallow waters. Giant eagle owls, iridescent carmine bee-eaters and African skimmers are just some of the other species to be found here.