Kasanka
Zambia · Central Province · 1180 m
Description
Kasanka is one of the smallest national parks in Zambia and holds the largest mammal migration on earth, though almost nobody sees it. Between late October and December up to ten million straw-coloured fruit bats crowd into a single patch of swamp forest barely a hectare across, so densely that branches break under them, and pour out at dusk in a stream that takes an hour to pass. The rest of the year Kasanka is a quiet park of miombo and papyrus where the sitatunga antelope is watched from tree hides. Beds during the bat season are booked a year ahead.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 2 to 5 days (optimal 3 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: November – December
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Straw-coloured fruit bat migration (October - December)
- Dusk exodus from the swamp forest (October - December)
- Sitatunga antelope from the tree hides
- Fibwe hide in the mahogany canopy
- Kasanka river canoe trips
- Miombo woodland and papyrus swamps
- Raptors hunting the bat column (October - December)
- Livingstone memorial at Chitambo(Day trip)