Zambia - Useful information for your trip

Zambia is a country in South-Central Africa, with Lusaka as a capital city: its territory is landlocked and mostly consists of plateaus. The western part is characterized by vast floodplains, usually inundated during the wet season, which goes from October to April. The eastern part is covered by the savannah, where the climate is more arid, while the northern area is covered by equatorial rainforest, along the river Zambezi.

Two are the main river basins in Zambia: Zambezi's to the south and Congo's to the north. Zambezi forms Victoria Falls, the widest waterfalls in the world. On the other hand, the Congo basin contains Lake Tanganyika, whose tributary is river Kalambo, on the border with Tanzania, originating Kalambo Falls, the second highest waterfalls in Africa after Tugela in South Africa. 

The climate in Zambia is tropical: temperatures are mild on the plateaus during the dry season lasting from May to November, while rainfalls become more frequent during the summer. Most of the country is covered by savannah or by sparse vegetation which forms the so-called "tree-veld". This area is populated by large mammals such as leopards, hyenas, jackals and, in some northern areas, even elephants. Many species of antelopes also live here. Finally, there are also numerous types of birds, reptiles and insects, including tse tse flies. 

The economy in Zambia is deeply underdeveloped: 70% of the population lives below the poverty line. High levels of Hiv diffusion aggravate the situation: it is calculated that, due to Aids, life expectancy has reduced to 42 years. Almost half of the population is concentrated in the main cities, but most inhabitants are unemployed. Copper mining still remains the leading economic activity, even if the Government is trying to promote other sectors, such as agriculture, tourism, extraction of precious stones and hydroelectric power production.

Tourism is quite underdeveloped due to the presence of many incurable diseases in the country and to the lack of accommodation facilities. Anyone who visits Zambia shouldn't miss Victoria Falls, among the most spectacular waterfalls on Earth, Livingstone Railway Museum, Lusaka National Museum, which offers an insight of the history and tradition of the country, and finally Livingstone Museum, the largest and oldest in Zambia.