Time + Tide Chinzombo

Chinzombo occupies an old grove of ebony and mahogany on the Luangwa's eastern bank, directly across the water from the national park. There are only six villas, each very large, each with its own pool and an open front that puts the river a few metres from the bed. The design leans on canvas, timber and woven screens rather than on anything heavy.

South Luangwa is the birthplace of the walking safari, and Chinzombo's guiding reflects that: mornings often begin on foot rather than in a vehicle, with drives reserved for covering ground or for the night drives that the park permits. Leopard density here is among the highest anywhere in Africa.

The camp stays open through the green season, when much of the valley shuts, and the boating and birdlife in those months are a genuinely different experience from the dry-season game viewing.