This North and South Luangwa walking safari is for people who would rather walk than ride. The Luangwa Valley is where the modern walking safari began, when Norman Carr led guests on foot in the Nsefu area in the 1950s, and walking here is still guided with great skill. Over eleven days you walk in South Luangwa from a river camp and then between bush camps, before flying north to North Luangwa, a remote park with few roads and only a handful of seasonal camps.
It goes much further than a week of South Luangwa walking. You walk from one camp to the next, stay in camps built around walking guests, and finish with four nights where walking is the main activity rather than an option. Drives still feature, including night drives in the south, but your feet set the pace. The Zambia walking safari guide explains the formats, rules and safety practices in more detail.
Why this route works
The trip builds up gradually in both effort and remoteness. Three nights at a South Luangwa river camp let you adjust to early starts and the heat with a mix of walks, drives and night drives. The move into bush-camp country is made on foot, with a vehicle carrying the luggage, so the transfer itself becomes a walk. Three nights in the bush camps give you several longer walks before you fly north. North Luangwa comes last because it is the most remote and the most demanding, open only from mid-June to October and about 40 minutes by light aircraft from Mfuwe. The premium and luxury levels share the same simple walking camp there, because North Luangwa has no luxury camps; we think the setting more than makes up for it.
