Most travelers associate the Great Migration with East Africa’s Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in Tanzania and Kenya, where millions of blue wildebeest—African antelopes also called gnus—thunder across the savanna each year. But in western Zambia’s Liuwa Plain National Park, close to 45,000 wildebeest follow their own ancient path from neighboring Angola to drink from the Zambezi River. It’s Africa’s second-largest wildebeest migration, and one still blissfully free of crowds.
Measuring 1,301 square miles, Liuwa—meaning ‘plain’ in the local Lozi language—is one of Zambia’s oldest conservation areas. Two centuries ago, the Litunga (king) turned what had been his private hunting grounds over to his people as custodians. Poaching later decimated the wildlife here, until 2003, when NGO African Parks began comanaging Liuwa alongside the Zambian Department of National Parks and Wildlife and the Barotse Royal Establishment. In 2008, species such as lions, buffalo, and eland were reintroduced, helping restore a thriving ecosystem.
When to visit Liuwa Plain National Park
Liuwa’s wildebeest migration is in full swing from late November to mid-December, at the start of Zambia’s rainy season, when visitors, often in lone safari vehicles, can watch the wildebeest move across the honey colored plains and at river crossings. (The park is closed between December and March, when it’s at its wettest.) According to Zambian wildlife photographer Luke Katemba, who traveled to the area in July 2025, the experience feels like stepping back in time. “With hardly another vehicle in sight, it’s an experience. Without the crowds and no distractions, nature takes center stage,” he said.
Even when the wildebeest are not at Liuwa Plain, the park is filled with wildlife.
Photo by Marcus Westberg
Earlier in the year, between May and July, when the wildebeest are in neighboring Angola, clear skies and cooler temperatures at Liuwa make for excellent conditions for viewing game such as zebras, wildebeest, red lechwe, lions, hyena, and abundant birdlife. “I saw everything from hyenas in broad daylight to lions patrolling their territory,” says Katemba. He also highlights the photography opportunities during this period, with “endless space and soft horizons.”
When the rains recede (in May and June, and just before they return in November), the plains transform into a carpet of wild flowers, with pink, red, and white sand lilies.
Between August and October—the hot, dry months—the plains turn a golden hue, and wildlife becomes easier to spot as animals concentrate around the last remaining water sources.
How to get to Liuwa Plain
Due to its remote location, reaching Liuwa National Park isn’t as easy as other parks in Southern or East Africa. International flights land in the capital of Lusaka at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport. From there, the best and fastest way to get to the park is to arrange a 2.5-hour charter flight to Kalabo, the park’s gateway. Alternatively, travelers can make the roughly 10-hour drive by rental car. A pontoon ferry takes vehicles across the river into the park, and a high-clearance 4x4 vehicle is essential for self-driving. The journey may be long, but the reward is standing on the plains with hardly another vehicle in sight.
Where to stay
Liuwa Camp is run by African Parks in Zambia.
Courtesy of Anel Joubert
Opened in 2017, King Lewanika Lodge is the only permanent lodge inside Liuwa Plain. Its six spacious canvas-and-thatch tents look directly onto the floodplains, offering a front-row seat to the migration. All rooms have indoor and outdoor showers, and meals are served in a large thatched-roof building with a library and a bar (from $3,615 per person sharing for three nights, including all meals, drinks, game drives, laundry, and emergency evacuation for medical reasons).
For a more price-accessible option, African Parks operates Liuwa Camp, in a jackalberry and plum tree forest with seven raised canvas chalets and a thatched-roof communal dining area, between May and December (from $580 per person per night, including all meals, two guided game drives per day, and laundry). In nearby Kalabo town, groups can book Sishekanu House, a five-bedroom, furnished, self-catering guest house with a large outdoor veranda (from $700 per day for up to 10 people, laundry services included). A chef can be booked for an additional fee.
Community-run campsites across the park are the most affordable and adventurous way to stay, but they require more self-sufficiency and camping gear. Four of the five campsites have flush toilets, hot showers, and camp attendants (from $40 per person, plus a $40 daily park entrance fee per person and a $15 daily vehicle entry fee).
What to do in Liuwa Plain
Early morning and evening game drives offer the best chance to witness the migration when the wildebeest are at Liuwa. While self-drives are possible, a local guide or community scout is recommended for their knowledge of wildlife behavior and the park’s often-challenging routes. Walking safaris can also be arranged through the park’s community scouts.
Birders will be in their element here, as Liuwa is home to some 300 species, from grey herons and storks to blacksmith plovers. “During my visit, I saw flocks of crowned cranes filling the sky,” says Katemba.
The Kuomboka Ceremony in Liuwa Plain National Park, Zambia
Courtesy of Marcus Westberg
Liuwa is unusual in that more than 12,000 Lozi people legally live within the park boundaries. Visitors can arrange to meet community members and learn how they balance daily life with the presence of wildlife. Time a visit in April, and you may also witness the Kuomboka Ceremony, an annual cultural festival in which the Lozi king (the Litunga) and his entourage relocate from the floodplain to higher ground in a flotilla of decorated boats.
For guests staying at King Lewanika Lodge, one of the park’s most remarkable experiences is a wilderness sleep-out exclusive to these accommodations: guides help guests track the migration into remote areas before spending the night under a canopy of stars.
How to book
Because Liuwa’s accessibility depends heavily on rainfall between October and April, it’s best to plan with a safari outfitter that understands local conditions, including Extraordinary Journeys and Jacada. Robin Pope Safaris, a long-running Zambia-based company, also plans customized trips to Liuwa.
Make a Trip of It
For travelers intrigued by migrations, Liuwa pairs well with another extraordinary wildlife spectacle in central Zambia: the world’s largest bat migration in Kasanka National Park. Each year between late October and January, more than 10 million fruit bats descend on the park to feed on fruit trees. Chartered flights from Lusaka take about one hour and can be arranged through tour operators; a self-drive from Lusaka would take about seven hours.
