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South Luangwa National Park Is Where the Walking Safari Was Invented
South Luangwa National Park in eastern Zambia, threaded by the meandering Luangwa River and famous for its leopard density, is where guided walking safaris were pioneered in the 1950s and remain the defining way to experience it.
By BigTravel.in Editorial Team · · 2 min read
South Luangwa National Park sits in Zambia's Eastern Province, its boundary traced by the wide, oxbow-looped Luangwa River, which draws enormous concentrations of hippo and crocodile even before the game drives begin. The park is best known among safari specialists for two things: an unusually high density of leopard, which make it one of the more reliable places on the continent to see one after dark, and its status as the birthplace of the walking safari, a format pioneered here in the 1950s by the conservationist and former game warden Norman Carr.
Norman Carr and the origins of walking safaris
Carr began leading armed foot patrols through the Luangwa Valley in his work as a game warden, and later adapted the practice into guided walks for paying visitors, a format now standard across East and Southern Africa but rare enough in the 1950s to be genuinely novel. The company he founded, Norman Carr Safaris, still operates camps in the park today and continues to run the guided walking safaris built on the training methods he established, with armed, licensed walking guides leading small groups at a pace built around tracking rather than covering ground.
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A seasonal park, deliberately
Most camps in South Luangwa are small, seasonal and set well back from any semblance of a tourist strip, largely because the park's dirt roads become impassable in the wet season, from roughly November to April, and many operators close entirely for those months. That seasonality has kept infrastructure light rather than encouraging the kind of large-scale lodge development seen in some more accessible reserves.
Getting there stays part of the experience
Mfuwe, the small town on the park's boundary, has its own airport with seasonal flights from Lusaka, and the road in from the airstrip to most camps runs directly through village land and past the park gate, a reminder that this remains a working rural region rather than a purpose-built resort corridor.
Traveller tips
- Mfuwe International Airport connects to Lusaka, generally with more frequent flights during the dry season from May to October.
- Many camps close for some or all of the wet season (November to April); check operating dates before booking.
- Zambia uses the Zambian kwacha, though US dollars are widely accepted at safari camps.
- Walking safaris are typically limited to small groups with an armed, licensed guide; night drives and walks are usually offered as separate activities.
Where this is
South Luangwa National Park, Zambia
