Mfuwe Lodge

The Bushcamp Company is South Luangwa National Park's largest safari operator: eight properties on a single exclusive concession of 140,000 acres inside the park. The classic journey starts at Mfuwe Lodge or The Villas at KuKaya, both just inside the main park gate, and moves progressively through two or three of six remote bushcamps — Kuyenda, Chamilandu, Chindeni, Bilimungwe, Kapamba, and Zungulila — each in a different habitat.

Mfuwe Lodge has eighteen thatched chalets arranged along two lagoons, a spa, swimming pool, and the company's most talked-about annual event: between late October and mid-December, a wild elephant family walks through the open-plan reception to reach a mango tree in the courtyard. The six bushcamps hold only a handful of guests each. The Villas at KuKaya offers six private thatched villas, each with its own dedicated guide and vehicle, overlooking the Luangwa floodplain.

South Luangwa is where the walking safari was pioneered in the 1950s, and BCC's guiding lineage runs directly from that tradition. Walks are led by professional guides with an armed scout from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife; children must be at least twelve to join. Night drives — permitted in only a small number of Zambian parks — are available across the circuit. Game drives go out at dawn and late afternoon.

Over two hundred staff, almost all from the Luangwa valley, work across the eight properties. Since founding in 1999, the company has contributed to clean water access for more than 88,500 people and supports 1,300 students through community education programmes.