Boutique hotels in Zambia

Zambia has a long tradition of small, owner-run safari camps, and it is known as the birthplace of the walking safari. Camps are intimate and unpretentious, with fewer vehicles and more time on foot than in many neighboring countries.

The Luangwa Valley

South Luangwa is the best-known park, famous for leopards, hippos and its dry-season concentrations along the river. North Luangwa is much wilder, with a handful of tiny bush camps that focus almost entirely on walking.

The Zambezi and Kafue

The Lower Zambezi offers canoeing, boat trips and elephants along the river. Kafue, one of Africa's largest national parks, includes the Busanga Plains, open only in the dry season. Liuwa Plain, in the west, is remote and known for its wildebeest migration.

Victoria Falls and the lakes

Livingstone, on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls, has riverside lodges beside the Zambezi above the falls. Lake Kariba and Lake Tanganyika offer a quieter water-based side of the country, and Bangweulu is a vast wetland home to shoebill storks.

When to go

The dry season, from June to October, is the best time for wildlife. Many camps close in the rainy season, from November to April, when roads become impassable.