ZambiaHow many tours are available for North Luangwa National Park?
There are currently 0 listed tours that include North Luangwa National Park in the itinerary.
Overview
It’s the northernmost park in the Luangwa Valley and has very little infrastructure by way of roads and accommodation. Only a few hundred people per year are permitted to enter. That makes North Luangwa National Park (known as North Park to locals) one of Zambia’s finest and most unspoiled wilderness areas.
Declared a game reserve in 1938 and a national park in 1972, North Park covers an area of 2,880 square miles (4,636 km²) and is at the heart of an 8,494 square miles (22,000 km²) protected virtually untouched eco-system – a pristine wilderness.
In the east, the park is bordered by the Luangwa River. Its western boundary is the 3,280-foot (877 m) Muchinga escarpment. The Mwaleshi River flows east-west through the centre of the park and divides it into two zones. The north zone is more accessible, and self-drive safaris are allowed. The south zone is strictly a wilderness area, and only walking safaris are permitted.
The completely unspoiled nature of the park is the result of an intense long-term program, The North Luangwa Conservation Program. In fact, for over thirty years, the only people allowed access to North Luangwa National Park were game rangers.
The program’s most exciting achievement is the establishment of the only black rhino population in Zambia. After being declared extinct in Zambia in 1998 and reintroducing the rhino between 2003 and 2010, it has become the most prolific herd in Africa.
With growing herds of rhinos, African elephants, buffalo, and predators, including lions and leopards, your visit to North Park may well reward you with sightings of The Big Five – and that’s something you won’t find anywhere else in Zambia.
Regarding accommodation, there are only three bush camps, each privately owned, which offer comfortable fully catered facilities, and a few community-owned campsites, which cater to the self-drive visitors who are brave enough to go it alone.
Pros and Cons
Upsides
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You can view the Big Five in this park, the only one in Zambia where this is possible.
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It’s the only place in Zambia that is home to the black rhino.
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North Park has the most enormous elephant population in Zambia and huge herds of buffalo, which makes for very impressive viewing.
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North Park is renowned for its expertly guided walking safaris.
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Before 2002, the only way to visit North Park was to fly in (there are two landing strips), but now you can self-drive.
Downsides
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You can spend days in the park without seeing another person except your guide. (Advantage or disadvantage? It depends on you!)
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From November to May, the camps are closed, and access to the park is almost impossible. Visitors are, therefore, only able to enter North Park from June to October each year.
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The roads in North Park are not maintained to take any vehicle other than a 4WD, and while self-drive visitors are allowed, it is recommended that they travel in pairs, and are well-trained in negotiating all types of terrain.
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Because so few people visit the park, the animals are not accustomed to them and are more reticent than those in South Park, so viewing is more difficult.
Wildlife
The vegetation changes from mopane woodland on the escarpment and miombo woodland on the lower hills to acacia shrub, grass plains, and riverine forest as you get closer to the Luangwa River.
More about the wildlifeBest Time To Visit
Unlike many national parks in Zambia which offer access all year round, you can only visit North Park during the dry season from June to October. From November to March/April all camps are closed, and most roads become impassable.
More about best time to visit
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