Best Time to Visit Zambia

General & Geography

The Republic of Zambia is a former colony of Great Britain in southern Africa.

The landlocked state has been independent since 1964, is predominantly Christian and is now home to around 15 million inhabitants.

Zambia borders Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The land lies on a plateau more than 1000 meters high. However, this plateau is crossed in many places by deep valleys.

Zambia is therefore home to countless waterfalls, the most famous of which are located directly on the border with Zimbabwe: the world-famous Victoria Falls.

19 national parks are scattered throughout Zambia, which is extremely popular not only for its walking safaris. South Luangwa and North Luangwa, Kafue National Park and Lower Zambezi are among the most animal-rich parks.

The economic heart of Zambia is the rapidly growing capital Lusaka in the south of the country.

The International Airport, which is served daily via Johannesburg, among other destinations, is about 12 miles away.

Climate in Zambia

Zambia has a tropical, largely variable-humid climate. The climate is temperate due to the altitude and produces mild temperatures all year round. Basically three seasons can be distinguished in Zambia: A cool dry season, a hot dry season and a hot, wet rainy season.

The so-called cooler dry season runs from May to August with day temperatures of around 24 °C to 27 °C. The night temperatures cool down to up to 6 °C during this climatic period, so that appropriate clothing must be worn, especially during early morning and late afternoon safaris.

With the beginning of September, temperatures then rise sharply and very often break through the 30 °C mark at noon. This hot dry season lasts from the beginning of September to around mid-November, after which the increased humidity towards the end of November heralds the onset of the rainy season.

In northern Zambia, the sultry, hot rainy season already begins in the course of October; in the south, the first heavy rains usually do not occur until the first days of December. The rainy season runs throughout the country until April and is sometimes very unpleasant, especially in the Zambezi and Luangwa safari regions.