Kafue National Park
Kafue National Park
Welcome to Kafue National Park! Sprawled across 22,400 square kilometers, Kafue is the largest (not to mention oldest) of Zambia’s national parks, spanning three separate provinces, while also registering as the second largest park on the continent of Africa. The park bears the name of the Kafue River, which runs north to south through the park, supporting much of the wildlife for which the park is known.
Kafue National Park is primarily accessed from Lusaka, Zambia’s capital city, via the Lusaka-Mongu Road. The trip takes about 13 hours. Alternate routes include car travel from the bustling city of Livingstone as well as chartered flights leaving from Lusaka and Livingstone.
Wildlife
Like most national parks throughout Zambia, Kafue is teeming with an abundance of wildlife. Common animal sightings include antelopes, specifically lechwe and pukus, plus small herds of zebras. Come June, blue wildebeests collect around the Busanga Plains, and throughout the remainder of the dry season, as temperatures rise, the northern section of the park sees an influx of kudus, bushbucks, elands, reedbucks, duikers, grysboks and defassa waterbucks.
Lions are a perennial favorite among visitors and can often be found in close proximity to the lechwe and puku herds that serve as their prey. The park itself contains a number of prides—i.e., families of lions—as larger males are uncommon within the bounds of Kafue. Leopards can be found in the forested areas that provide them with adequate hiding spots, while cheetahs can be seen in the northern sections of the park. Hyenas and African wild dogs are prevalent throughout much of Kafue and provide plenty of exciting viewing opportunities.
A variety of bird life can be spotted throughout Kafue National Park. Some of the most common species are forest, water and Savannah birds as well as other migratory species. Visitors to the park can also expect to see ducks, guinea fowls, pheasants, grouse, allies, flamingos, pigeons, doves, sand grouse, black-bellied bustards, cuckoos and turacos.
Last but not least, the rivers of Kafue National Park are home to fierce crocodiles and pods of mammoth hippos as well as majestic herds of elephants, representing some of Africa’s most coveted and memorable sights.
Kafue in Pictures.
EXPLORE KAFUE NATIONAL PARK WITH US.
What to Do When you Visit
Popular activities at kafue national park
WALKING SAFARIS AT KAFUE NATIONAL PARK
Looking for a unique and intimate way to explore Kafue National Park? Consider joining a Nature Horizons walking safari! With skilled professional guides at your side every step of the way, walking safaris are an unforgettable alternative (not to mention perfect complement) to game drives that rely on vehicles.
Walking safaris allow guests the opportunity to intimately experience the park’s abundance of species and engage with its expansive natural beauty. As you set out, ambient bird calls will bring a sense of the familiar, but from there, you’ll be wholly immersed in the wild like never before—without the noisy interference of automobiles and instead relying on the senses as you track some of Africa’s most sought-after animals.
Wildlife that guests can expect to observe while on a Kafue National Park walking safari include herds of elephants, scores of buffalo grazing the grasslands and antelopes scampering through the bush. Birding enthusiasts, on the other hand, will find that walking safaris are ideal for spotting the many endemic and migratory birds found across the park’s plains, wetlands and forests.
Overall, walking safaris are a great way to discover some of the park’s smaller flora and fauna that might otherwise be overlooked on a traditional game drive.
CANOEING AT KAFUE NATIONAL PARK
Among the many unforgettable ways to explore Kafue National Park is via canoe.
The Kafue River, from which the park takes its name, acts as the primary source of water for much of the park’s wildlife. Once on the water, guests are afforded the opportunity to experience hippos, crocodiles and other river-bound wildlife entirely in their environment. Canoeing also allows the ability to observe, undetected, magnificent herds of elephants and buffaloes, among scores of other animals, watering on the shoreline and cooling off with a bath after a long, hot day moving through the park.
Bird watchers will find that canoeing presents a unique opportunity to spot various species basking in the sun and enjoying a drink from the river.
BIRD WATCHING AT KAFUE NATIONAL PARK
Over time, Kafue National Park has become something of a bird-watcher’s paradise. It’s, by all accounts, considered one of Zambia’s top birding destinations, with upwards of 480 species distributed throughout the park’s forests, rivers, wetlands, woodlands and floodplains.
Some of the more notable birds you’re likely to spot when visiting Kafue National Park include African darters, malachite kingfishers, the brown-headed apalis, wattled cranes, the elusive Chaplin’s barbet (aka the Zambian barbet), green pigeons, Schalow’s turacos, often spotted on the park’s sycamore figs, and Southwestern Zambia’s black-cheeked lovebird, found between the Kafue River and the Zambezi River.
The best time for bird watching in Kafue National Park is during the wet summer months—November through April—when the migratory birds arrive and the fewest species are actively breeding.
FISHING AT KAFUE NATIONAL PARK
Among the many unique activities available when visiting Kafue National Park is fishing.
Select spots along the Kafue River, from which the park takes its name, provide exciting opportunities for first-time and long-time anglers alike to dip their lures. Some of the most notable fish include the Kafue killifish, bream, barbel and freshwater pike, to name just a few of the nearly 70 species found in the river.
Guests interested in fishing while visiting Kafue National Park will want to book their excursion with the lodge at which they’re staying in order to obtain the proper license as well as equipment. In some cases, guests may also be able to make arrangements directly with their tour operators to ensure the availability of fishing equipment and boat access.
GAME DRIVES IN KAFUE NATIONAL PARK
Few activities, if any, capture the pure exhilaration of an African safari quite like a Kafue National Park game drive.
A major highlight of game drives in Kafue National Park, as one might expect, is the opportunity to experience the park’s abundant wildlife and unspoiled nature up close and personal. Game drives take guests from the plains to the forests and waterways in search of the park’s most-treasured animals, including elephants, lechwe, pukus, antelopes, zebras, buffaloes, lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, wild dogs, wildebeests, waterbucks, hippos, crocodiles and cheetahs as well as a host of bird life.
Game drives are led by professional safari guides who are preternaturally familiar with Kafue National Park and its terrain, allowing them to effectively track wildlife throughout the entirety of the park.
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