Home of the walking safari, South Luangwa

This is exploring Africa at its most visceral and personal: on foot, with expert guides, and not from the back of an open-top vehicle. The park hosts 60 different mammals and well over 450 recorded bird species, including 39 birds of prey.

Why not also combine your walking safari with a luxury sleepout under the stars? At dusk you enter a large, dry riverbed that features a bar and cosy bedrolls (with mosquito netting). After a three-course meal, you snuggle up to the sounds of crickets, giggling hyenas and rumbling lions, and a heavenly show like you’ve never seen. In the morning, after a hearty English breakfast, you set off on the next leg of your walk.

South Luangwa is not a Big Five destination (it has no rhino), but the game viewing is spectacular: lion, leopard and hyena, an abundance of antelope, and impressive herds of elephant, buffalo, zebra, giraffe and wildebeest. The Luangwa River is home to the world's highest concentration of hippos, too.