Photo: The Bushcamp CompanyAfrica on foot
The guide to walking safaris in Africa
What a walking safari really is, where it is done well, and how to choose the right one. Every camp assessed on the same published criteria.
Start here
Three ways in
New to walking?
What a walking safari is, and is not
How safe it is, how far you walk, how fit you need to be, and what a morning on foot looks like.
Where to go?
The parks where walking is done well
South Luangwa, Mana Pools, Kruger, Hwange and more, compared on the same criteria.
Ready to plan?
Find a camp that really walks
Every qualifying camp in Africa, filtered by country, park and format.
Three kinds of walking safari
These are formats, not rankings. Most travelers are happiest in a Walking Camp: walk in the morning, drive in the evening, and end the day with a sundowner.
Photo: The Bushcamp CompanyWalking Expedition
Walking is the whole trip
Mobile camps, trails camps and multi-day walks. Vehicles only for transfers. For committed walkers.
Walking Camp
Walking equal to the game drive
Guided walks every day, offered as an equal choice with drives. Typically 3–5 km on foot, back in camp by lunch.
Walks Offered
A walk as an add-on
Lodges where walking is not a core activity.
By the numbers
Where walking really matters
Share of commercial safari camps where walking is a daily core activity, counted on the same rules in every park.
See the data and method →South Luangwa has the most walking camps of any park: 23 of them. Counts exclude state-run and self-catering properties.
What a walk is really like
Photo: The Bushcamp Company3–5 km
A typical morning walk in a Walking Camp. Not the 5–10 miles you may have read.
Guide + scout
In Zambia's parks, a licensed guide and an armed government scout go on every walk.
2–8 walkers
The usual group size on a walk.
June–October
The core walking season in southern Africa. Walking stops in the rains.
On foot
What you will see, and what you will learn
Walking is not the best way to find lions, and that is not why people do it. It is the way to understand the bush.
Seen on most walks
Antelope, baboons and monkeys, and a great many birds.
Often seen
Elephants, buffalo herds, giraffes, zebras, kudu and waterbuck. In the Luangwa, hippos and crocodiles in large numbers.
Rare, but it happens
Lions, leopards and wild dogs. Unforgettable on foot, but never the point of the walk.
On every walk
Reading tracks, hearing the calls of the bush, and learning how trees, termite mounds and animals depend on each other.
Read before you go
All articles →
Photo: Chibembe Wildlife ReserveWhy Walk
Are walking safaris safe?
Photo: Chiawa SafarisWhy Walk
How far do you actually walk on a walking safari?
Photo: The Bushcamp CompanyPlan
Which walking safari is right for you?
Photo: The Bushcamp CompanyWhere to Walk
South Luangwa walking safari guide
Photo: Seolo AfricaWhere to Walk
Walking safaris in Kruger: what to expect
Photo: Hluhluwe-iMfolozi ParkStories
Who invented the walking safari?
Where to walk
Every park in our directory. Select one to see its camps and walking share.
201 camps in total in our directory.
Select a park on the map.
Walking-led camps (larger dot, more camps)Walks offered onlyDrag to move · + and − to zoomRelief: NASA Earth Observatory · Rivers: Natural Earth
WalkingSafaris.comWhy this site exists
WalkingSafaris.com is dedicated to the understanding and practice of the walking safari, the form of African photographic tourism in which guests leave the vehicle and explore wild country on foot with expert guides. Our aim is simple: to help more people experience a walking safari, and to help them choose the right one.
Pioneers of the Walking Safari
Norman Carr created the walking safari on a simple conviction about conservation: wildlife survives only when the people who live alongside it have reason to protect it. Ian Player added the other half: wild country, met on foot, changes the person walking through it. Every walking safari still does both. It sustains the guides, scouts and communities whose livelihoods depend on wild places staying wild, and it sends travelers home seeing the world differently.
Featured camp listings
Kapamba BushcampThe Bushcamp CompanyChamilandu BushcampThe Bushcamp CompanyChindeni BushcampThe Bushcamp CompanyBilimungwe BushcampThe Bushcamp CompanyZungulila BushcampThe Bushcamp CompanyKuyenda BushcampThe Bushcamp Company
Chibembe Wildlife ReserveChibembe Wildlife Reserve
Lion CampLion CampKapamba BushcampThe Bushcamp CompanyChamilandu BushcampThe Bushcamp CompanyChindeni BushcampThe Bushcamp CompanyBilimungwe BushcampThe Bushcamp CompanyZungulila BushcampThe Bushcamp CompanyKuyenda BushcampThe Bushcamp CompanyChibembe Wildlife ReserveChibembe Wildlife ReserveLion CampLion CampFeatured listings are paid and labeled. Half of every fee goes to the protection of the birthplace of the walking safari. Feature your camp →