Lusaka

Lusaka is the capital of Zambia and the point every itinerary passes through, a flat, spread-out city on a plateau at twelve hundred metres where the light aircraft to the national parks leave from a separate terminal beside the international one. It is a working African capital rather than a sight, with a national museum covering the colonial and independence periods and a Sunday craft market at the Arcades that is the best place in the country to buy basketry and malachite. Kabwata cultural village keeps carvers working on site. Most itineraries use it for one night on the way in or out.