LEOPARDS AND LOCAL CULTURE

Best for: Walking safaris, crafts & community projects

DURATION: 10–14 days ROUTE: Lusaka • South Luangwa NP • Lower Zambezi NP

WHEN TO GO? June–october are the driest months; the green season, November–may, is great for birding and baby antelopes

If leopards and expertly guided bushwalks top your safari wishlist, look no further: Zambia’s flagship national park, South Luangwa, is one of Africa’s best destinations for both. Lower Zambezi is a complementary destination – Africa’s first carbon-neutral national park, and fabulously scenic.

Zambia has an excellent guiding tradition and bags of character and creative talent, particularly in the rural regions. You’ll get a strong sense of this at Latitude 15 Degrees in Lusaka, a delightful boutique hotel lavishly decorated with art and artefacts by Zambian artists, and in Mfuwe, gateway to South Luangwa, where several workshops sell original textiles, jewellery and homewares infinitely more appealing than the mass-produced carvings in many African craft markets. Even better, these enterprises contribute to wildlife conservation and help support local families.

Thanks to its rich wetland and woodland habitats, and the patient dedication of its guides, South Luangwa’s wildlifewatching is outstanding: on more than one weeklong visit I’ve seen leopards every day. In Lower Zambezi you can explore a great African waterway, the Zambezi, watching elephants pad silently down to the water’s edge to drink.

Cat & nous A leopard lounges in a branch ( above) in South Luangwa National Park, where superbly knowledgeable guides lead some of Africa’s best walking safaris (right)