Zambia

Some of southern Africa’s most unspoiled landscapes await the visitor to Zambia—the sort of visitor ready, at many a turn, to deal with primitive accommodations and rough roads. And while many of its amazing sights take some effort to get to, there are also some highly accessible destinations that provide unforgettable snapshots of Zambia’s monumental beauty.

The splendor and variety of Zambia’s landscapes can stop you in your tracks. Huge lakes? Try Lake Tanganyika, Lake Kariba, Lake Mweru, and the swamp-edged Lake Bangweulu on for size. Earth’s most impressive waterfall? The mist-plume thunder of Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls) should be on everyone’s list. Grasslands darkened by mingled herds of iconic African grazers? Absolutely—not least in South Luangwa National Park, which holds its own against any other on the continent in terms of the abundance and variety of its wildlife.

Zambia also provides some of Africa’s best opportunities for true outdoor adventure, given the remoteness and wildness of some of its parks and preserves. West Lunga National Park is a prime example: This hard-to-reach wilderness along the West Lunga and Kabompo rivers in the northwest accommodates camping and exploration of the primitive and self-reliant variety. Here in mostly untouched thick evergreen mukwe forest, miombo woodland, glades, and wetlands, the ambitious trekker can glimpse a stellar collection of birds and a variety of wildlife. Over on the Namibian border, the nearly-as- remote Sioma Ngwezi National Park has the flavor of the Kalahari, with large numbers of elephants, zebra, and antelope as well as rare painted hunting dogs amid its teak forests and semiarid grasslands. And adrenaline junkies, take note: Zambia lays claim to a world-class whitewater route in the Zambezi River’s frothing passage through the Batoka Gorge below Victoria Falls.

For those who prefer well-developed tourist facilities, Zambia’s most famous travel destinations certainly deliver—including Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, the Tongo moniker for Victoria Falls. The cataract’s gateway town of Livingstone, which honors the 19th-century Scottish explorer of “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” fame, is interesting in and of itself, supporting as it does an excellent museum and an interpretive village (Mukuni). And you can indulge in the complete luxury-safari experience at South Luangwa National Park, fully outfitted for every kind of visitor; this is also, incidentally, one of the best places in Africa for foot safaris.

In Zambia you’ll discover another side to southern Africa: long and lonesome miombo tracks, National Geographic-worthy wildlife spectacles without the crowds, and foaming, steep-walled rapids calling to anyone's inner thrill-seeker. Whether you’re casting for tigerfish in Lake Kariba, walking in the pawprints of a lion, or kayaking in the shadow of Victoria Falls, Zambia rewards the intrepid explorer in droves.