Kafue National Park, Zambia
Ila Safari Lodge
A lodge dedicated to sustainability
If low-impact exploring is your priority, Ila Safari Lodge is a leader in the space in Zambia’s Kafue National Park. This beautiful tented camp is an intimate option, with just 10 tented rooms suitable for both couples and families, but their environmental credentials cannot be understated: they were the first camp to introduce electric safaris in Zambia. This means your game drives are quiet and low on carbon footprint, and river cruises are smooth and serene without the noise of a motor.
Your tent is powered by solar energy harvested on site, and the furniture is made from locally felled wood. Inside each one you’ll find rainfall showers and double vanity sinks, and outside there’s a private deck for you to watch the wildlife go by along the Kafue River.
At the central, communal deck you can swap safari stories from the day with other guests, or just lounge by the pool in the heat of the African sun. Out in the bush, you might spot lions or elephants, have a carefully prepared breakfast beneath the trees, or take a walking safari with an expert guide.
All meals here are prepared using produce from local markets, as well as ingredients grown on the camp’s own farm.
Highlights
Electric-vehicle game drives
Electric boat river cruises
10 luxurious tented suites with river views
Family-friendly tents
Eco walks and community farm visits
The impact of your stay:
- Ila Safari Lodge actively reduces carbon emissions by relying extensively on solar energy. Conservation and reforestation initiatives offset remaining emissions, and as the sole safari operator in Zambia offering electric safaris, they use electric Land Rovers and boats. Since introducing the first electric Land Rover in 2011, they’ve expanded their fleet, allowing guests to enjoy immersive and environmentally conscious African safaris. The silent, solar-powered vehicles enable closer wildlife encounters without emissions, preserving the vulnerable ecosystems they operate within.
- Starting at Ila, the Green Safaris Conservation Foundation has extended its influence and impact. In 2022, the foundation made a substantial investment of $400,000 in conserving and uplifting Zambia and Malawi through a blend of social and environmental initiatives.
- Using revenue generated from the lodge, Green Safaris has established an organic learning farm in the Mulendema chiefdom. A baseline survey in the chiefdom uncovered that 98% of the residents engage in subsistence farming. The organic garden serves various purposes, such as providing training to locals on sustainable farming practices, supplying produce to the local market and nearby lodges, and encouraging organic gardening within the community.
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Places to combine Ila Safari Lodge with
Liuwa Plain National Park
Largely untouched by crowds and paved roads, Liuwa Plain National Park boasts one of the oldest conservation histories in Africa; it was proclaimed a protected area by the lodge’s namesake, King Lewanika of the Lozi tribe in the early 1880s.
The camp is a beautifully modern take on the traditional safari camp, retaining features and simple materials such as canvas drops, leather and wooden decks overlooking the wilderness with local thatch and grass in the main area in a refreshingly simple, sustainable, and meaningful way.
There are just six spacious tents here sat on platforms which open up dramatically to the surrounding plains and feature both indoor and outdoor showers. One is a family suite which features one double and one triple room. The communal thatch building has lounge, dining and bar areas, with stairs leading down to a fire pit.
King Lewanika Lodge has experienced guides for intimate safari excursions with unrivalled access and absolute exclusivity to this unspoiled region. Unique wildlife experiences include witnessing hyenas hunt in packs of up to 50, the second biggest wildebeest migration in Africa, rare birds, a growing cheetah population and its famed lion pride. Explore on guided walks as well as day and night game drives, with boating and canoeing possible between December and March, depending on water levels.
