Luambe National Park

Luambe covers a small block of the Luangwa valley between the two better known parks, and it receives so few visitors that the game is skittish and the tracks are often the only ones cut that season. Buffalo, elephant, hippo, puku and the Cookson's wildebeest found only in this valley all occur. It was heavily poached in the past and has been recovering under a management partnership since the 2010s. One camp operates in it.

Background

The park covers 300 km2 on the flat floor of the Luangwa River rift valley, at an elevation of 500-700 metres, beside the river. Its woodland belongs to the Zambezian and Mopane type, a savanna that copes with the heat and dryness of the valley bottom better than the Miombo woodland found across most of Zambia. Trees grow thickly in places and open to grassland elsewhere. Each rainy season the Luangwa floods, and as the water falls, lagoons stay behind beside the main channel, drawing animals and birds in the dry months. At Luambe the river never dries out entirely, though by the end of the dry season it shrinks to a trickle. The park had no funding until 1999.

Source: Wikipedia, "Luambe National Park"

The landscape

• The Luangwa river frontage - the park's stretch of the river with hippo pods.
• Cookson's wildebeest - the subspecies found only in the Luangwa valley.
• The emptiness - one of the least visited parks in Zambia, with few tracks.
• The recovery - game returning under the management partnership since the 2010s.

When to go

June to October is dry with open tracks and concentrated game. The rains from November close the park entirely. Late season has the best sightings.

Good to know

The park closes in the wet season and access is difficult at any time. Game densities are far below South Luangwa and animals are shy. There is one camp and no other facilities.

Nearby

South Luangwa is south, and North Luangwa is north.

Key facts