It is not easy to plan tourist itineraries in a country, Zambia, which can offer hundreds of interesting places to discover, and thousands of others yet to be explored. To give you a guideline of the routes, we have taken the main cities of the nation as reference points. So to invite you discover the beauties that arise a few kilometers from them, on each of the cardinal points.
Northern Zambia, the mining Copperbelt
Based in one of the mining towns of this fascinating region, you can easily move around the whole territory of the copper mines, both active and abandoned. Kitwe is perhaps the most important city. Today it has more than half a million inhabitants and together with the city of Ndola, famous for its well-kept green parks, hosts many tourists who aim for this region.
If you want to explore the mines, head from these cities to the small towns that have shaped the history of the region. Chingola, for example, where the open-air mines form the beauty of the place together with the giant acacia trees. Here there is also a golf course among the most beautiful in Africa! Or you can go and visit Solwezi, who loves to pamper its tourists with some nice craft beer bars and newly discovered prehistoric rock art. The canyons full of caves along the Kifubwa river are also worth the visit.
Southern Zambia, Livingstone and the waterfalls
Livingstone is “the capital of the south” and also the main tourist center of the region. Famous for its museum dedicated to David Livingstone, it is also the gateway to a very fascinating national parks.
Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, from the ancient name of Victoria Falls, is really impressive. The name means precisely “smoke that thunders”, with reference to the clouds of vapor that rise from the waterfalls. Inside the park are the famous Victoria Falls, formed along a kilometer-long tectonic rift. In the territory of the park you shall meet white rhinos, Angolan giraffes, zebras and elephants.
The shores of Lake Kariba are also protected and beautiful places, which extend along the southern border of Zambia. Among acacia forests and pretty beaches you arrive at the town of Siavonga, a well-kept urban place full of greenery and tourist facilities.
Central Zambia, from Lusaka to Lower Zambezi Park
Lusaka is the national capital and also the center of Zambia’s commercial, cultural and artistic life. Famous for its markets, museums and monuments, it is also the starting point for the best safaris in Zambia.
Kafue National Park is a gigantic protected natural park that can be reached from Lusaka. With over 20,000 square kilometers of territory, it is home to thousands of typical African animals, such as antelopes of the plains or the cheetahs and at least 4,000 elephants.
More famous, but less large, is the Lower Zambezi National Park which borders the state of the same name. Beautiful wild animals (lions, buffaloes, leopards, elephants…) move to and in this alluvial plain often looking for water and shelters to give birth to their young.
Also worth discovering is the beautiful Blue Lagoon National Park. Located on the hills of Kafue, it houses a lake that forms the water reserve for myriads of migratory birds and wild animals. It is located just 100 km from Lusaka.
Chipata and Eastern tourism
In the extreme east of Zambia lies the town of Chipata. It can be a great starting point for a safari to South Luangwa National Park. Protected mountain region, home to herds of elephants and hippos, buffaloes, giraffes but also lions. Excursions can also be made to the small villages of local shepherds, coming into contact with the local traditions.
Sioma Ngwezi, the West Park
Sioma Ngwezi National Park characterizes the tourist itineraries of the extreme west of Zambia. Land of elephants, it is also home to kudu, impala and cheetah. Not far from this park you can visit other beautiful waterfalls, those of Ngonye, a tourist center equipped to give you a memorable experience in nature. MAIN PHOTO ON TOP BY CHRISTINE SPONCHIA PIXABAY
