The best walking safaris: Zimbabwe vs. Zambia

When I think about walking safaris, the two locations that immediately come to mind are Zimbabwe and Zambia. These are perhaps two of the lesser-known countries for going on safari. But they offer amazing experiences, often at much better value, and here ‘chasing the Big Five’ comes second to delivering an authentic wilderness experience!

For some, Zimbabwe and Zambia might not be considered classic, first-time safari destinations. But once you’ve queued to get into the Ngorongoro Crater and visited the ‘must-see’ places, you might look for something a bit more wild the second time around, with fewer vehicles.

Getting out on foot is incomparable to 4x4 game driving. Once you step out of the vehicle, you really can be at one with the land – your senses are heightened, and because there is no engine noise there’s no barrier between you and the sounds of the savanna. Both Zimbabwe and Zambia are superb for this. And they don’t just offer first-rate walking safaris – there are plenty of other activities to enjoy, like boating on the Zambezi, canoeing, and day and night drives.

Walking in South Luangwa, Zambia

Walking in both destinations is perfectly safe. Zambia and Zimbabwe have very difficult exams for anyone hoping to become a walking guide. It’s an exceptionally hard qualification to achieve and includes approaching large predators as part of the course! There is more risk in walking than in a game drive, which is why the guides are supremely trained to keep everyone safe, while respecting the animals. All guided walks in Zambia and Zimbabwe also require the ranger or guide to carry a high-calibre rifle, which is not always the case in some destinations. Obviously, the aim is to never get into a situation that requires the use of a rifle, but it’s always better to be safe.

Having walked extensively in both Zambia and Zimbabwe, I believe it really depends on what you want – the countries are surprisingly different in their approach to walking safaris.

Zambia tends to offer a slower pace of walking. There’s a lot less focus on the big game – it’s more about exploring the park and getting the opportunity to learn about the smaller things that often get missed when in a vehicle. This can be tracking, looking at bones and dung, or birding. The aim is not to approach big game, although this does occasionally happen! In Zambia, it is the park ranger who is in charge of the rifle and the guide is in charge of leading the walk. So when you stop to talk about something, the guide can be relaxed explaining things, all the while knowing that the ranger is on the look-out for any potentially approaching game. I also found that the walks here tend to be a dedicated activity. You set off as the sun comes up and get back to camp at around 10 in the morning. You cover a range of 3–6 km, with no need for a vehicle for further exploring. 

My go-to camps for walking in Zambia are Robin Pope’s Mobile Camps, Musekese Camp and Chikoko Tree Camp.

While Zimbabwe does offer longer walks, the walks tend to be shorter, often following tracks to get close to big game. Multiple times we’d be driving along, and the guide would spot lion tracks on the road. He’d pick up his rifle and we’d go off in search of that animal. So it felt more purposeful than walking in Zambia, where you tend to see what you see. The experience in Zimbabwe is incredible if you want close encounters – and the professional guides really have gone through some of the hardest exams to get to this stage. In this country, the guide is in charge of the rifle and you don’t walk with a ranger. I personally found this meant that less information was passed on during the walk, as there was more for the guides to be focused on, but they do pass this information on later. It’s worth noting that Mana Pools is the stand-out game-viewing area for walking in Zimbabwe. For years there has been a big focus on walking here, meaning the game is a lot more relaxed with walkers – you can get very close to lion, elephant, and wild dog, etc.

My favourite camps in Zimbabwe for walking are Hwange Bush Camp (including a couple of days’ fly camping), Vundu Camp, and Wilderness Chikwenya.

So there is no direct answer to which destination is better for walking – it’s more about what interests you and the style of walking you think you’d like to do. I would say that a combination of Zambia and Zimbabwe is hard to beat, with Luangwa and Mana Pools being my favourite parks for walking. Spending four nights in each park, with a couple of nights in Victoria Falls to link up the two, is about as good as it gets!

Discover James’s favourite lodges for walking in Zambia and Zimbabwe below. If you see anything that interests you, do get in touch with one of our safari specialists to start planning your trip to Africa.