South Luangwa
Listen to a lion calling in the distance and feel every sense awaken as you open your eyes in one of the wildest places on the planet, ready for a sunrise walking safari.
Regional Highlights
9,050 km2
- 1 hour flight from Lusaka (Proflight)
- 1 hour flight from Lilongwe, Malawi (Ulendo Airlink)
Known as the Valley of the Leopard, it is in South Luangwa that the legendary Norman Carr, our founding father, pioneered walking safaris and conservation-based tourism in Africa. Today, our award-winning Zambian guides, some trained by Norman himself, offer guests a warm welcome to one of the greatest wildlife sanctuaries in the world.
Smell the pot of coffee on the campfire at sunrise as you anticipate the day’s activities. At sundowners, sip a gin and tonic while being dazzled by plains game under a glowing red sky. Discover the difference between lion and leopard paws as you trace your finger over their prints on the soil. Admire a family of elephants or a herd of cape buffalo on a safari drive. Marvel at the richness of 450 bird species one minute, and a pack of endangered wild dogs the next.
Stretching out over 9,000 square kilometres, and only an hour’s flight away from Lusaka or Lilongwe, this unfenced and unspoiled wilderness feels a world away from modern life.
Oldest safari company in Zambia (est. 1950)
Award-winning all Zambian guiding team
History
Norman Carr, one of our original founders, was a man ahead of his time. This bold innovator of the walking safari also initiated a far-reaching concept that was to pave the way for modern conservation and ecotourism.
Way back in 1950, he encouraged Senior Chief Nsefu – Paramount Chief of the Kunda people in the Luangwa Valley – to set aside a portion of tribal land as a game reserve and built the first game viewing camp open to the public in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). His dream was to secure the future of this unique wilderness by ensuring that the local population would benefit through conservation of the wildlife and habitat of the Luangwa Valley. This led to the birth of Zambia’s first safari company. We are very proud of our history and Norman’s legacy lives on in our people and the camps we operate across the South Luangwa.
We have named our circuit of seasonal camps ‘Norman’s Camps’ in his honour.
The legacy of Norman Carr
Norman believed you never truly knew and understood a country until you’d walked it. We are still following in Norman’s footsteps and the ideals he believed in: