Mfuwe Lodge

Set within a private 140,000-acre wilderness concession inside South Luangwa National Park, The Bushcamp Company operates eight properties founded in 1999 as a walking-safari circuit. Mfuwe Lodge sits between two lagoons five minutes from the park gate, with 18 thatched air-conditioned chalets scattered along the water. Each chalet opens onto a private deck overlooking the lagoon. The Director's House is a two-bedroom villa with a fenced garden, pool, and pizza oven in a secluded corner of the grounds. The Villas at KuKaya comprise six thatched villas just inside the main gate, each with a private plunge pool and dedicated guide and vehicle. Six remote bushcamps — Kuyenda, Chamilandu, Chindeni, Bilimungwe, Kapamba, and Zungulila — occupy distinct habitats across the concession, each with a handful of tents or chalets. Walking safaris between camps take two to four hours on foot with an armed national-parks scout and a tea porter. Night drives use spotlights to track nocturnal species. Game drives depart at first light and late afternoon led by guides trained in a lineage that runs from Norman Carr, who pioneered the walking safari in the 1950s, through Phil Berry. The valley holds some of Africa's highest leopard densities. Between October and mid-December a family of wild elephants walks through Mfuwe Lodge reception to reach a wild mango tree in the courtyard. The Bush Spa at Mfuwe Lodge offers treatments beneath the canopy. Community visits include the on-site farm, local schools, and village projects. All properties remain open year-round including the emerald season from December to April.