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Zambia

Travel Guide Zambia

The Republic of Zambia is, because of its relatively close distance to the equator, a typical country for African safaris. The country’s diverse flora and fauna, lots of magnificent national parks as well as the breathtaking Victoria Falls are great for everybody who wants to enjoy Africa’s fascinating wild nature.

Our trips to Zambia:

Volunteering Zambia – Elephant Conservation Kafue

Volunteering Zambia – Elephant Conservation Lusaka

Volunteering Zambia – Species Conservation

Safaris Zambia

Highlights in Zambia

The Victoria Falls is the waterfall with the largest water curtain in the world. Over 1500 meters of water rumble down from the Zambezi river into the First Gorge, a chasm with a depth of 80 to 108 meters. It is well discussed whether Zimbabwe's side is the better one to watch the majestic Victoria Falls, or the Zambian one. From Zimbabwe's side you have the opportunity to have a straight view onto the falls as you are standing right across the “First Gorge”. The view from Zambia's side is a totally different one. From Zambia you can either have a look from the side right into the First Gorge or you can have a look down the Victoria Falls from the Devil's Pool, a natural formed pool on the edge of the falls where the water is slowed down so much, you can even have a swim.
The Luangwa River is a massive intact river system and forms the origin of the diverse life in South Luangwa National Park. The park hosts a wide variety of wildlife, birds and vegetation. The famous ‘walking safari’ originated in this park and is still one of the best ways to explore Africa’s pristine wilderness first-hand. The changing seasons add to the park’s natural richness, ranging from dry, bare bushveld in the winter, to lush green forest in the summer months. 60 different animal species and more than 400 different bird species can be found in South Luangwa National Park. The only notable exception is the rhino, sadly poached to extinction.
More than 22,500 sq km of lush wildlife and a huge variety of birds and plants – the Kafue National Park is one of the biggest national parks in Southern Africa. With terrain ranging from forests along the Kafue River to the vast wetlands of the Busanga Plains, the park is able to leave every wildlife enthusiast in awe. Carnivores and their prey, big herds of elephants, buffaloes and even the rare wild dogs live in the Kafue National Park. The park gives each safari guest the chance to experience Zambia's amazing untouched nature.
The Zambezi River below the Victoria Falls is widely considered the very best White Water Rafting river in the world. A deep channeled, high volume river, the Zambezi has class 3-5 rapids. Not only experts should be attracted to this – beginners are also able to enjoy this adventure! But not only good rapids make this an unforgettable experience: The river and its riverbanks offer a fantastic view over the might Victoria Falls and the lower parts of the Zambezi.

Geography of Zambia

With approx. 752.600 square kilometers, Zambia is roughly twice as big as Germany. The landlocked country borders eight countries: Namibia, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. The landscape of the country is mainly characterized by open savannahs and dense drainage lines.

Geology

The main parts of Zambia consist of many different highlands, having an altitude between 1.000 and 1.400 meters above sea level. Because of that Zambia is marked by a lot of deep valleys and steep cliffs, leading to the development of many waterfalls. The Bangweulu-Bassin in the country’s north is a giant crater of an old volcano. The headwaters of the Zambezi are coming from the west, a landscape formed by the Kalahari Desert. However, the country is mainly formed by two big river systems: The Zambezi in the south and the Congo in the north.

Travel tips and Trivia for Zambia

Easiest way to travel Zambia is by plane. The important airports are in Lusaka, Livingstone, Ndola, Kitwe, Mfuwe, Kasama and Kalabo. Bus rides are also available, but busses are slow because of the streets’ bad conditions. There is a train connection between Lusaka and Kitwe and an express connection between Lusaka and Livingstone. However, relying on the local train system is a bit tricky.
Do:
- Try the national dish Nshima.
- Wash your hands after eating.
- If someone offers you food, try a little.
Don’t
- Don’t kiss anyone in public.
- Don’t address older people with their first name.
- Don’t ask your guests if they are hungry, it is considered as not polite.

Climate in Zambia

Being quite close to the equator Zambia only has one climate zone: tropical, with temperate, dry winters and warm summers. Because of its altitude, Zambia is rather mild, compared to other African countries. Zambia has two different seasons, the dry and the wet season. The wet season lasts from November until April mostly. Whereas the dry season starts with cool dry temperatures from May until August, it continues with very hot and completely rainless weather from September until October. Zambia is hot throughout the year. Between November and April temperatures are between 25 to 30°C, between May and August 21 to 26°C. September and October are the hottest months with 28 up to 35°C.

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Flora and Fauna of Zambia

40% of the country is still natural forest, mainly of teak trees. Zambia’s main vegetation consists of evergreen dry savannah woodlands. Mopane and Baikiaea forests as well as savannahs are the habitat for Zambia’s fauna. In the southwest rainforests can be also be found. Due to numerous lakes and rivers flooded areas with swamp- and grasslands frequently occur.
Hyenas, crocodiles, hippos and letchwes are still quite common outside of the big reserves and national parks. Animals like rhinos, lions, buffaloes and elephants do occur in the entire country but more often only in the national parks.

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Social Geography of Zambia

Zambia is a presidential republic in the Commonwealth of Nations since 1991. The president is elected for 5 years and is able to be elected twice. As Zambia is still a very poor country. As a tourist you will always be considered rich, even if this is not necessarily the case. Walking around at night time can be a risk but still not a reason to be afraid.