Upemba National Park

Upemba was created in 1939 and covers around ten thousand square kilometres of the Kibara plateau and the Lualaba depression, from high grassland above eighteen hundred metres down to the floodplain lakes and papyrus of the Upemba wetlands. Zebra, roan, sable, elephant and hippo are all present, though numbers fell heavily during decades in which the park was effectively unmanaged, and the current management is rebuilding patrols, infrastructure and wildlife numbers from a low base.

What you actually see

• The Kibara plateau - high open grassland and gallery forest above the escarpment.
• The wetlands - the Upemba depression lakes and papyrus, on the Lualaba floodplain.
• The miombo woodland - broad-leaved dry forest across the middle altitudes.
• The wildlife - zebra, roan, sable and elephant, recovering under the current management.

When to go

May to September is the dry season and the only practical window for the roads and for tracks inside the park. The wet season from November makes most of the park unreachable. Wildlife concentrates near water at the end of the dry season.

Honest expectations

Visitor infrastructure is minimal and everything is arranged through the park in advance. Wildlife numbers are well below historic levels and sightings are not comparable with parks in eastern or southern Africa. Getting there involves days of rough road.

Nearby

Kundelungu National Park is southeast, and Lubumbashi is far to the southeast.