The North Luangwa National Park (NLNP) is a remote wilderness area in the heart of Africa. There are no permanent tourist facilities and only three safari camps which are all located along the beautiful, clear waters of the Mwaleshi River. The emphasis is on walking safaris from these dry season camps and as such there are limited game viewing roads. The beauty of the park is its remoteness, perfect for Africa buffs wanting to get away from it all. Whilst there is plenty of game, there are not the same concentrations of animals as that found in South Luangwa National Park.

The 4636km2 NLNP is located in the northern region of the Luangwa Valley which was formed by the Great Rift Valley System. The western boundary of the park runs along the Muchinga Escarpment, whilst the Luangwa river forms the park boundary to the east. The park is characterized by extensive areas of open grassland, scrub mopane woodland, miombo woodland towards the escarpment and riverine vegetation along the meandering Luangwa river.

NLNP is one of 4 national parks in the Luangwa Valley and is the only park to incorporate a substantial part of the Muchinga escarpment within its boundaries (24%). The miombo woodland here is the best example of undisturbed escarpment miombo in national parks in Africa. 

The steep road down the Muchinga escarpment is exceptionally beautiful with breathtaking views of blue, atmospheric hills, mature forest and the Luangwa Valley below. However, most people access the park via light aircraft getting a birds-eye view of the vastness of Africa.

One of the highlights of an extended stay in the park is a trip to the Mwaleshi falls on the escarpment, an ideal spot for a picnic and a refreshing swim in the cool waters after the long walk. The river is also shallow enough in front of the camps for guests to take a paddle during the heat of the day.

Wildlife:
NLNP is particularly known for its large herds of buffalo closely shadowed by a very healthy and at times impressively vocal, lion population. Cookson’s wildebeest, an endemic species to the Luangwa valley are common together with zebra, impala, kudu and warthog. Larger carnivores in the park also include leopard and hyaena. Elephant are starting to recover from the heavy poaching but are still quite wary of people.