Get away from the crowds and enjoy a truly unspoilt wilderness experience, with excellent lion, elephant, leopard, crocodile and hippo sightings.

The Luambe National Park is one of the least celebrated in Zambia and is nestled between the South and North Luangwa National Parks in the Luangwa Rift Valley. It is a small park at just 300 km², consisting mainly of mopane and miombo woodlands with patches of open grassy plains.

A real throwback to safaris of yesteryear, Luambe appeals to true safari purists who want to get away from the crowds and enjoy an unspoilt wilderness experience. The park is home to just one camp, so the experience of staying here on a tailor made Luambe safari is an incredibly private one, with a maximum of eight guests in the camp at any one time.

As is standard in Zambia, the summer rains mean that the park is off limits for much of the year, with Luambe open to visitors between July and October every year. The shortened season does contribute to this being a less well-known park, but those who do make the journey here are amply rewarded with a fantastic wildlife viewing experiences in spectacular surroundings. Elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, hyena, giraffe and puku are some of the more commonly seen land animals, whilst the Luangwa River flowing through the park ensures excellent crocodile and hippo sightings, as well as superb birding. If you are considering a visit to Luambe then it often works well in conjunction with a few days in the South Luangwa where the wildlife is certainly more prolific. A few days there followed by four nights on a private Luambe safari allows you to slow the pace down and really get under the skin of this beautiful wilderness area. Doubtless this isn’t for everyone, but for more ardent safari-goers it offers an experience that can be replicated in few other parts of Africa.