Lusaka - Post Report Question and Answers
What are some interesting/fun things to do in the area? Can you recommend any “hidden gems"?
There's an elephant orphanage in Lilayi where you can watch the baby elephants get fed every morning for cheap. Lilayi Lodge is beautiful and has very good food. There's a weekly handicraft market at Arcades Mall on Sundays, and several monthly markets that are fun. Lusaka National Park is great for long walks or mountain bike rides and looking at animals, and there are rarely many people there. Forest Reserve is also nice for walks and you can bring your dog. - Dec 2021
The wildebeest migration at Liuwa Plains! Or the bat migration at Kasanka national park! - Feb 2018
We are not big into camping, but if you are, you might love it here. Lots of campers really love it. - Nov 2017
Spending time in safari parks or nearby areas at different seasons offers new perspectives on each visit. I'd recommend seeing Vic Falls during both the rainy and dry seasons - totally different experiences. Zambia has some fall and spring colors, so areas along the Zambezi escarpment can be quite picturesque. There is a chimp park near Solwezi that lots of people really like. Mutondo Wilderness and Shiwa'ngadu hot springs in Muchinga Province are neat (featuring some neolithic drawings, too). Bird watching is fantastic, all over the country. If you can make it, tribal ceremonies like the Nc'wala in Eastern Province and Kuomboka and Western are sights in and of themselves.
There's Japanese sushi rice growing wild in Western Province, mangoes everywhere. Avocadoes are plentiful, cheap, and good in rainy season. Central/Northern Province have huge, tasty mushrooms during certain times of the year, too. If you're adventurous, you can also try finkubala (mopani worms) or inswa (termites), when they're available! - Jan 2017
Game drives. - Jun 2016
Lilayi Lodge just outside of town offers an excellent restaurant with special events during which they bring winemakers up from South Africa. They also boast an elephant orphanage and low-key, predator-free game drives and walks. - May 2016
One must travel outside of Lusaka to do most of the "fun" things. Livingstone, where Victoria Falls is, has an endless amount of adrenaline and other activities such as bungee jumping, white water rafting, the gorge swing, helicopter and microlight rides, walking with cheetah, etc. etc. but Livingstone is a 6-7 hour drive or a plane flight away so I am not sure you can count it as being in the area. Going to the game (National) parks is an absolute must and you should go as frequently as possible if you find you love it, but prices are spectacularly high. Camping, as mentioned above, will allow you to get out more frequently without going bankrupt. And although scary and actually dangerous too I do recommend a canoe safari of at least two days' length. Tigerfishing is a big deal here too, on the Zambezi and also on Lake Kariba. - Mar 2015
Many expats like to go camping or on safari. There is the Hash group, BBQs, movie theatres, Alliance Francais. - Aug 2014
Obviously going to Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia is a must. Safaris are great and there are plenty. Plenty of hunting and fishing opportunities. Many enjoy doing the bat migration. Others love doing trips to Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mauritius and Mozambique. - Jan 2014
Lusaka is a quiet town with little to offer in the way of attractions. Most of what makes Zambia a great place to live lies outside of the city. There are, though, movie theaters and malls, and the school does various things with the larger community. Available to watch are Polocrosse matches, football (soccer) matches, and there is a Hash House Harriers club, biking groups, Quiz nights, golf, and other clubs and groups too. Just don't look for, say, mini-golf, parks for hiking or frisbee, lakes for swimming, a pedestrian zone, etc. A little outside of town is a so-so reptile farm, a couple of nice, if expensive, lodges with some game animals, a boat trip on the Kafue river, and probably a few more activities. But again, it is a quiet city and most people entertain themselves either at home, with friends, at school, or with travel. To experience the really special aspects of Zambia you would need to go to Lake Kariba, any of the national parks, Livingstone....lots of places outside of the city, with the closest of these about 2 1/2 hours away. - Apr 2013
Great horseback riding - polo and polocrosse. Great off-road bicycling and motorcycling off-road club is very active. Of cousre, tons of camping, fishing, safari at locals prices. There's a good, first run movie theatre, some moderately decent restaurants and sports clubs. There's an active Hash Chapter. There are lots of clubs like bridge, salsa dancing, yoga - Jul 2010
Most people socialize at home - Mar 2009
Safaris, Victoria Falls, South Africa. Zambia itself has very few things that are affordable. The safaris are expensive, and if you have been to South Africa, Kenya, or Tanzania, they will also be very disappointing. - Mar 2009
Game parks. - Oct 2008
Safari of course, fishing, camping. There are also lots of club activities. This is also the place to take up outdoor exercising like tennis and golf, because it isn't pricey and the weather is always perfect. This is also the place to learn to ride dressage or jump. - Aug 2008
Lots of amazing safari opportunities. However, even mid-range safari companies currently charge US$120-150 per person per day for fully inclusive safari packages, so don't expect to be going on a safari every long weekend. - May 2008
