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Capital and largest city of Zambia
Photo: Webster Zulu, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Lusaka, in Lusaka Province, is the capital of Zambia. It is a cosmopolitan city that is home to about 2.7 million people (2020), approximately one in six Zambians. Lusaka is the centre of commerce and government in Zambia, and has several cultural facilities.
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It is an elegant concrete building with tall stained glass windows. Properly titled the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, it opened for worship on 14 September 1962.
In the city showgrounds; holds exhibitions of local art. Unique and professional pieces are available and the staff will be happy to pack your work for safe travel.
Wildlife Park and Sanctuary, Botanical Gardens, Recreational Village and Environmental Education Centre. Started in 1956 as private garden and has grown to be Zambia's premier environmental education facility. With over 50,000 visitors a year Munda Wanga reaches out to the future of Zambia to learn about their environment and natural heritage. The park has rescued animals, including a baby elephant and baboons, and released them back to the wild. However, there are still plenty of animals that find their way in to the sanctuary after being found in the illegal pet-trade. The Botanical Gardens are a place to relax and leave the hustle and bustle of the city behind you. The Terrace Bar and Restaurant has nice food and cold drinks available.
A wildlife ranch. Take a game drive and see animals as close to the wild as they can be in the city. Lilayi lodge has an excellent restaurant and hosts Sunday buffets which can be eaten while lounging in around the pool.
A classic dusty, underfunded African museum that is worth a visit if you are at a loose end. An amusingly stark 'collection' of modern art on the ground floor, coupled with a more engaging exhibition upstairs covering Zambia's colonial history, village life, and witchcraft. Lots of old newspaper cuttings giving an interesting glimpse in to the prejudiced views of British Colonial Officers and their attitudes towards the 'natives'. Give yourself at least 1 hour, but keep your expectations low.
Out in front of the Lusaka National Museum. The statue depicts a man breaking free of chains and is a reminder of Zambia's fight for freedom.
Reconstructed Zambian village and shopping with a more "African" feel, with dozens of curio-makers and salesmen. Little bit of hawking. Be prepared to spend a while, and don't be afraid to bargain for a good price.
There's a nice crocodile pond here, murky waters and slithering serpents. And a swimming pool also.
Some sticks and twigs here, maybe a duiker or something once in a blue moon. Place to let the kids out.
A place to get Korean BBQ and other Korean classics, go for their beef dishes especially as you get the good quality Zambian beef in Korean style. Korean owners who also have a shop next to the restaurant (although pretty expensive) with different imported food.
The Lusaka Club, Los Angeles Boulevard, Longacres. Long a staple of the Lusaka dining scene Marlin is notorious for its pepper steak. Other meats and some Chinese on the menu also. The restaurant has a definite 1970s feel, but is always pretty busy (reservations needed for busy times), and the beef is pretty good (porterhouse a better option than the fillet). Prices exclude 27% in VAT and service. The wine list is exclusively Nederburg. Mains from K70,000.
Run by an Ethiopian lady the lodge's restaurant offers some pretty authentic Ethiopian cuisine - better to eat in the bar under the thatch rather than in the wedding hall-esque dining area.
Small coffee shop in Arcades Shopping Mall. Serving milkshakes, a variety of coffees including lattes, cappuccinos and a great assortment of cakes.
This busy, fun and friendly bar is in Lusaka Backpackers, (which used to be called ChaChaCha Backpackers). It's the most easy going place in the centre of the city, and even has great food. Its used by locals and tourists alike and is the place to be if you want to meet people in a place where you don't need to dress up first. You'll get local businessmen in suits for their after work beer and tourists getting out of the pool. There's even an informal taxi rank outside to get you home when you've finished your evening on the local Mosi beer.
Camping, 4-bed dorm, or private room.
Camping with own tent.
This one is pretty hip, over by the Arcades Mall and Radisson Blu and has a pool, spa, billiards, and breakfast, even though it's just a hostel.
8-bed dorm, free wifi, cable TV, swimming pool, security Lockers, 24-hour reception.
Single or double room with own bathroom.
It must be one of Lusaka's tallest (and most aesthetic looking) skyscrapers. It has all the amenities of a Hilton Garden property (pool, gym, restaurant, wifi, etc.) and is located downtown.
Out by the airport and has a pool and nice ambience; kinda pricey though.
Pool, spa, breakfast. Very swank and modern, out by Arcades Mall.
Probably the nicest in Lusaka, having undergone a US$7 million renovation. Helpful staff. However, the food is generally disappointing.
the front is a modern covered market. Behind it lies a massive market selling everything from beans to used clothes, when you want to take in all the sights and smells, among elements as varying as traditional medicines, bicycle repair men and engine spare parts. (Ensure you hold onto your handbag and any other items)
Lusaka's first mall, opened in 2000. Game Hypermarket, which is owned by Walmart USA, is the anchor, and the mall also features some high-end boutiques, a bookshop, a Subway restaurant, some memorabilia shops, and a wide range of shops: Shoprite supermarket, clothes, jewellery, books, interior design, electronics, and food places with outside seating.
The capital's second mall, featuring a relatively cheap Spar supermarket, where you can find your Western food goods. There are also cinemas (Ster-Kinokor) with air-con and a lot of space when watching a movie. A ticket is around K34 (half that price on weekdays). Right next to the cinema there is a bowling alley with a pretty good standard, and they also do disco-bowling in the late evening. There is a Sunday market on every Sunday (handicraft, clothes, plants) across parts of the parking lots.
Yet more South African shops for you to browse, including a huge Pick'n'Pay, and a cinema.
Shoprite is the largest supermarket chain in Zambia.
big chain of stores all over Zambia.
choppies of (Botswana) have stores all over Zambia.
By train
There are two trains per week to Lusaka from Livingstone. The Zambezi offers business class and sleeper compartments and is recommended for tourists.
By car
Since it is the commercial centre and governmental seat of Zambia, all the arterial roads lead to Lusaka. Buses run between Livingstone and Kitwe.
By bus
For buses within Zambia, Power Tools, Juldan Motors, UBZ are widely considered to be the best, most reliable lines by locals and expatriates.
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