Zambia Top Things To Do

• Stay in a lodge in the South Luangwa National Park (website: www.luangwa.net) amongst elephants, hippos, lions, zebras, giraffes, antelopes, buffaloes, monkeys and wild dogs with blossoming trees and exotic flowers forming the background.

• Explore one of Africa's most spectacular surviving wilderness areas - the North Luangwa National Park (website: www.luangwa.net), covering 4,636 sq km (1,790 sq miles) and home to the beautiful Mwaleshi river, huge herds of buffalo and over 350 bird species.

• Go birdwatching in the exceptionally diverse Lochinvar National Park on the southern edge of the Kafue Flats, a wide floodplain of the Kafu river, famous for its large herds of lechwe, an antelope unique to the Kafue Flats.

• Enjoy the sandy shorelines of Lake Tanganyika in Sumbu National Park, where there are three all-year beach resorts: at Kasaba, Ndole and Nkamba bays. The park's spectacular sunsets are not to be missed.

• Find more animals in the Kasanka National Park, one of Zambia's smaller parks, that encompasses eight lakes and four rivers, the largest being the beautiful Luwombwa. Attractive and diverse, it is home to specialised mammals, including the rare blue monkey, and birds.

• Take a canoe safari along the Zambezi River in the Lower Zambezi National Park, 100km (62 miles) downstream of the Victoria Falls. Try fishing for tiger fish, bottle-nose fish or bream.

• Get adventurous in Livingstone, Zambia's centre for adventure sports. Bungee jump off the 111m (364ft) bridge linking Zambia and Zimbabwe across the River Zambezi, or abseil or high-wire down or across the gorge.

• Go white-water rafting on the Zambezi. Longer and quieter river trips usually follow the Victoria Falls-Lake Kariba itinerary, with Lake Kariba also offering the possibility to relax for a week on a luxurious houseboat.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.