Zambia

There are countries you visit and countries you feel. Zambia belongs to the second group. Here safari is not a spectacle: it's an immersion. You walk through the savanna with a guide who knows every track, every sound, every sign. You sit by the fire while hippos rumble in the river. You wake to the distant roar of lions. South Luangwa is Zambia's heart: a remote valley where leopards are easier to see than anywhere else in Africa. Here Norman Carr invented the walking safari in the 1950s, and the tradition continues intact. Lower Zambezi offers another perspective: canoes gliding past elephants drinking on the bank, tiger fish leaping from the water, sunsets that set the river ablaze. What distinguishes Zambia is its authenticity. Camps are small, often run by families who have been in the valley for generations. Guides have deep knowledge that goes beyond identifying species: they understand the ecosystem as a whole. And visitors are few, allowing experiences that no longer exist in other destinations.