National Park · Zambia · 336,900 hectares
Liuwa Plain National Park
Africa's other great migration.
Liuwa Plain National Park: the numbers, sourced
As of July 2026.
- 1 lioness — Lady Liuwa, the sole survivor of the park’s lions, confirmed alone in 2002; reintroductions from 2008 rebuilt the pride. African Parks, 2002–2017.
- 45,000 wildebeest — Africa's second-largest wildebeest migration, at the last count. visitliuwa.org, 2023.
- 336,900 hectares — of Zambezian grass plain between the Luambimba and Luanginga rivers. Africa Geographic, current.
- ~12,000 residents — people legally living inside the park under the Barotse Royal Establishment partnership. visitliuwa.org, current.
- 200+ scholarships, 4,000+ farmers trained — community programs running alongside the wildlife recovery. visitliuwa.org, annual, current.
What was lost at Liuwa Plain National Park?
By the 1990s poaching and illegal trophy hunting had wiped out Liuwa's lions — all but one. A single lioness, later known as Lady Liuwa, was confirmed alone on the plain in 2002. For six years she was the only lion in 336,900 hectares, following vehicles for company.
What brought it back?
African Parks took on management in 2003, in a three-way partnership with Zambia's Department of National Parks and Wildlife and the Barotse Royal Establishment — the traditional authority whose people have lived on this land for centuries. Lion reintroductions began in 2008, and Lady Liuwa finally had a pride again. She died a natural death on 9 August 2017; the pride that survives her carries her line.
What is it like now?
Liuwa hosts Africa's second-largest wildebeest migration — 45,000 at the last count in 2023 (visitliuwa.org) — moving across a grass plain with almost no other vehicles in sight. The lion pride is small but breeding.
Who does the work?
Around 12,000 people legally live inside the park, and the partnership with the Barotse Royal Establishment makes them co-owners of its recovery, not bystanders. More than 200 children hold scholarships each year and over 4,000 local farmers have been trained in sustainable agriculture; African Parks is the region's largest employer (visitliuwa.org).
How do you visit Liuwa Plain National Park?
King Lewanika Lodge — named for the Barotse king — is the plain's one permanent lodge, with seasonal community campsites for the self-driven. November, when the wildebeest mass ahead of the rains, is the sight almost nobody has seen.
Stand in the second-biggest herd on Earth
Or have the whole journey designed for you — Cape to Nile designs custom African safaris.
Booking links may earn TravelConservation a commission at no cost to you. The visit is what funds the work.