Kafue National Park

Kafue National Park, the largest and oldest safari territory in Zambia, provides a unique bush safari experience in a vast wilderness area.

Kafue is huge. Much of the park is covered in miombo woodland and extensive stretches of savannah grassland where antelopes graze. The Kafue River runs through the park, forming its eastern boundary and irrigating its rich floodplains. Tall hardwoods overhang the banks of the river, while palm tree islands, formed by its many tributaries and channels, provide a haven for various bird species.

Kafue is famous for its huge herds of lechwe, which in turn sustain an array of predators, including lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dog. Elephant, buffalo, oribi, reedbuck, Liechtenstein’s hartebeest, blue wildebeest, kudu, roan and zebra are among the game species regularly sighted on safari in Kafue.

In September 2022, Kafue joined the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

In and around Kafue National Park, Zambia
Both walking and driven safaris are offered at most of Kafue's lodges and camps. Boat trips and canoeing safaris are also possible. Fishing on the Kafue River is another highlight.

Kafue is one of the largest safari parks in the world. You can't possibly hope to cover it all in a single trip, so it's best to focus on a few core game-viewing areas, particularly the Busanga Plains in northern Kafue, which offers the best game-viewing (fabulous wild dog sightings!) This is where most of Kafue's safari camps are located.

Kafue is the only major safari park in Zambia that is easily accessible by road from Lusaka. However, given the size of Kafue, and the fact that the core game-viewing areas are located in the far north of the park, it's often more practical to visit on a fly-in safari than it is to drive. There are regular charter flights from Lusaka, providing easy access to most of the best safari lodges and camps.