📌 Quick Facts About Zambia 🇿🇲
Zambia is one of the best countries in Southern Africa for an overland route because it connects Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, and the wider region. For many travelers, though, the biggest reason to visit is simple: Victoria Falls.
Locally known as Mosi-oa-Tunya, “The Smoke That Thunders,” Victoria Falls is one of the most spectacular natural wonders I have ever seen anywhere in the world.
- 🏛️ CapitalLusaka
- 💵 CurrencyZambian kwacha (ZMW)
- 🗣️ LanguageEnglish and many local languages
- 🌡️ ClimateTropical, with wet and dry seasons
- 🔌 Plug typeType C, D and G · *Anker Universal Travel Adapter
- 🌍 RegionSouthern Africa
🚌 My Overland Route Into Zambia
At the time, I was traveling overland from South Africa all the way up to Uganda. We crossed into Zambia from Namibia through the narrow Caprivi Strip, nowadays officially called the Zambezi Region, that strange thin extension of Namibia stretching eastward between Angola, Botswana, and Zambia.
From the Namibian side, we took a local bus toward the border, waited for around 3 hours until all the paperwork was done, crossed into Zambia and headed to Livingstone, the first major stop of the trip.
Getting there was already an adventure by itself. The road from the Namibian border toward Livingstone was, without exaggeration, one of the worst roads I had ever experienced anywhere in the world at that point.
Huge potholes covered enormous sections of the road, and sometimes driving even 30 kilometers took close to two hours. The bus constantly slowed down, swerved around craters in the asphalt, bounced violently, and crawled forward at painfully slow speed.
🌊 Livingstone and Victoria Falls
Eventually, we reached Livingstone. And honestly, Livingstone alone already makes Zambia worth visiting.
Without question, Victoria Falls is Zambia's biggest attraction and one of the most spectacular natural wonders I have ever seen anywhere in the world. The waterfall forms part of the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe and is considered one of the largest waterfalls on Earth by combined width and height.
Normally, travelers can explore both the Zambian and Zimbabwean sides fairly easily using regional visa schemes like the KAZA Univisa, which allows relatively easy border crossings between the two countries.
But when I visited during the COVID period, the Zimbabwean side was still closed, so we only explored the Zambian side of the falls. And honestly, we did not feel like we missed out.
💦 Visiting the Zambian Side of Victoria Falls
Although many travelers say the Zimbabwean side offers wider panoramic viewpoints of the falls overall, the Zambian side gets you dramatically closer to the actual water and often feels more immersive and intense, especially during high-water season.
One thing you notice immediately: you will get wet. Even standing relatively far from the waterfall, the sheer amount of mist created by the falling water completely soaks you. At some viewpoints, it honestly feels almost like standing inside heavy rain.
- Bring clothes that can get wet.
- Protect your camera and phone from the mist.
- Expect rainforest vegetation, roaring water, cliffs, bridges, and gorge views.
The entire gorge area below the falls is honestly breathtaking. Everywhere you look feels cinematic.
🏊 Devil's Pool and the Victoria Falls Gorge
One of the most famous attractions there is Devil's Pool, the natural rock pool right at the edge of the waterfall where visitors can swim during certain seasons together with guides.
That is the famous place where people take those insane photos appearing to hang over the edge of Victoria Falls itself. We personally did not do the full Devil's Pool experience, but it looked absolutely crazy and is definitely one of the most famous activities around Livingstone nowadays.
🦛 Zambezi River Cruise in Livingstone
One experience I almost forgot to mention, but that honestly deserves its own section, was a two-hour river cruise on the Zambezi River in Livingstone.
After seeing the raw power of Victoria Falls, being out on the river itself felt like a completely different side of the same landscape. Everything was calmer, slower, and much more peaceful, but still incredibly wild.
The highlight was seeing wild hippos in the water. Watching them surface, disappear, snort, and move through the river was one of the best experiences of the entire Zambia trip.
If you visit Livingstone, I would absolutely add a Zambezi River cruise to the plan. Victoria Falls is the obvious highlight, but the river cruise gave the whole place another layer.
📜 Livingstone, David Livingstone and “Dr. Livingstone, I Presume?”
Livingstone itself is also historically fascinating. The city is named after the famous Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone, who became one of the most famous European explorers of Africa during the 19th century.
For years, Livingstone disappeared while exploring parts of Africa, leading many people in Europe to assume he had died. Eventually, journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley was sent to search for him.
When Stanley finally found Livingstone near Lake Tanganyika, he supposedly greeted him with the legendary phrase: “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
Today, that quote is still associated heavily with Livingstone and Zambia, and you can find references to it throughout the city.
🏙️ Lusaka: Zambia's Capital
Apart from the falls themselves, Livingstone has become a fairly developed tourism hub by African standards. There are lots of hotels, backpacker hostels, activity providers, restaurants, and tour agencies catering to travelers visiting Victoria Falls.
After spending several days in Livingstone, we continued onward toward Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. Compared with Livingstone, Lusaka felt much more like a functional African capital city than a tourist destination.
We honestly did not spend too much time there, but if somebody has extra time in Lusaka, worthwhile places include the Zambia National Museum, Kabwata Cultural Village, local markets, and several nature reserves outside the city.
Personally, I would absolutely prioritize Livingstone and Victoria Falls over Lusaka if your time in Zambia is limited.
🎵 The 33-Hour Bus Ride Toward Tanzania
The craziest part of the Zambia trip was still ahead of us. From Lusaka, we continued northward all the way toward Nakonde near the Tanzanian border before eventually continuing toward Mbeya and Mwanza in Tanzania.
That bus ride remains the longest bus ride I have ever taken in my entire life. In total, the journey lasted roughly 33 hours.
Somehow, the transportation company had decided that the passengers should listen to the same playlist of around 12 gospel songs over and over again for basically the entire duration of the journey.
At first, it was funny. Then it slowly became psychological warfare. By the end of the bus ride, we knew every single lyric completely by heart.
One particular song became legendary among us because the chorus repeatedly went like: “Oh Lord, please don't let me cheat on my girlfriend...”
After hearing that line for what felt like the 500th time inside a packed overnight African bus somewhere between Zambia and Tanzania, we were completely exhausted. It was an absolute shit journey by all standards. Somewhere during the ride, we also tried local fufu-style Zambian food, Nshima, at one of the stops along the route.
💭 Final Thoughts on Visiting Zambia
More than anything else, when I think back to Zambia, I remember Victoria Falls: the unbelievable power of the water, the mist soaking everything around you, the dramatic scenery, the endless noise, and the feeling of standing in front of one of the greatest natural wonders on Earth.
Zambia ended up being an incredible overland stop between Namibia and Tanzania and one of the highlights of my Southern Africa route.