Discover Zambia

Zambia is a landlocked plateau in the middle of southern Africa, 752,614 square kilometres and the 39th-largest country in the world, most of it a thousand metres and more above the sea, dissected by the valleys of the Zambezi, the Kafue and the Luangwa. The one sight that most visitors arrive knowing is the Zambezi's: Victoria Falls, where the whole river drops in a single curtain into a chasm 1,708 metres wide and up to 108 deep, the Lozi name Mosi-oa-Tunya -- the smoke that thunders -- describing it better than the queen's. Everything else Zambia offers is quieter and, to those who know African safari, better: South Luangwa, the home of the walking safari; Kafue, the second-largest national park in Africa; the Lower Zambezi, a president's private reserve until 1983; Liuwa Plain, with the continent's second-largest wildebeest migration and almost no one watching it.

English is the official language of a country where Nyanja and Bemba are what people speak; independence from Britain came on 24 October 1964 under Kenneth Kaunda, who ruled a one-party state from 1972 until multi-party elections in 1991 under the motto "One Zambia, One Nation", and the country has changed governments at the ballot box since. Copper made the Copperbelt and unmade it in the price crash of 1973; nearly half the population lived in multidimensional poverty in 2018; and the hydropower that runs the country fails in drought years, so the lights go out.

For the visitor it is one of the easier African countries: Canada's advice is to take normal precautions, Britain's that the cities and major game parks are generally safe by day, nationals of 167 countries now enter without a visa, and a US$50 KAZA visa covers Zambia, Zimbabwe and a day in Botswana. What it asks is respect for distance, for the season -- rains from November to April, the cool dry months from May to August, the heat of September and October -- and for the animals, which the British advisory reminds you are unpredictable and do kill.

Do I need a visa?

Nationals of 167 countries do not, since a waiver for 53 more took effect on 1 January 2025; British passport holders may stay 90 days in any twelve months with a return ticket and funds. The KAZA UNIVISA, US$50 for 30 days, covers Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana day trips, at the two international airports and the Victoria Falls and Kazungula borders.

Is there a departure tax?

US$25 on international flights and a US$3 security charge on domestic ones, normally included in the ticket and otherwise paid in cash kwacha.

Which side of Victoria Falls?

Both, on a KAZA visa. The Zambian side has the Eastern Cataract, Livingstone Island and the Mosi-oa-Tunya park with its rhinos; the falls are fullest after the rains and thin to a curtain on the Zambian side by October.

What are the emergency numbers?

In Lusaka, police 991, medical 991 or 995, fire 993; outside Lusaka there is no central number, so carry local contacts.

Do I need malaria tablets?

Antimalarial medication is recommended for most travellers, and a yellow fever certificate is required if you arrive from a transmission-risk country. Check Zambia's controlled-substances list before bringing any medicine.

When is the best time?

June to October for the parks and a visible falls; the cool dry months of May to August for comfort, September and October for game at the water; the rains run November to April.