Bangweulu Wetlands
Zambia · Northern Province · 1140 m
Description
Bangweulu means where the water meets the sky, and the name describes it exactly, a system of lake, swamp and seasonally flooded grassland so flat that the horizon disappears into haze. Around fifty thousand black lechwe live here and nowhere else on earth, splashing across the shallows in herds. The wetlands are the most reliable place in Africa to find the shoebill, a prehistoric-looking stork the height of a person, reached by poled canoe through the reeds with a local guide from the fishing villages. Access depends entirely on the water level and changes month by month.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 2 to 5 days (optimal 3 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: May – July
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Shoebill searching by poled canoe (June - October)
- Black lechwe herds in the shallows
- Flooded grassland to a hazy horizon
- Fishing villages and the reed channels
- Wattled cranes and waterbird flocks
- Tsetse-free plains driving
- Chikuni community camp
- Sunsets with no horizon line