arrow_back All project sites
Liuwa Plains National Park
Liuwa Plains National Park covers 3,369 square kilometres in the plains of Western Province, bordered by Kalabo to the south, Mongu to the east, Sikongo to the west and Mitete to the north. It is home to the second-largest wildebeest migration on the continent and a rich cultural landscape shaped by the annual Kuomboka ceremony.
Background
The Liuwa Plains National Park is 3,369 square kilometres in land size and located in the Plains of Western Province. The districts bordering the Park include Kalabo to the south, Mongu to the east, Sikongo to the west and Mitete to the north.
The project site is accessible by air through Mongu national airport and airstrips in Kalabo district and Liuwa National Park. By road, the site is accessible via the Lusaka – Kaoma – Mongu – Kalabo road, and by water through canals on the Zambezi River between Mongu and Kalabo on the Lwanginga River.
Liuwa is home to the second largest wildebeest migration on the continent, involving over 30,000 wildebeest and widely regarded as one of the world's great wildlife spectacles — it was named to the New York Times' "52 Top Places to Visit" list in 2018. The park contains over fifteen historical and anthropological sites, including burial sites of past Litungas (Lozi Kings), and forms part of the Barotse Cultural Landscape (also known as the Barotse Floodplain, Bulozi Plain or Zambezi Floodplain), one of Africa's great wetlands, crossed by a network of canals that flood each rainy season between October and May. The area is also home to the Kuomboka ceremony, a tradition said to be over 300 years old, held at the end of the rainy season (February to May) as the Upper Zambezi Valley floodplain rises. Visitor accommodation is available at King Lewanika Lodge, a 5-star property within the park.