Wildtracks Lodge
Self-catering or catered chalets and tents · Chiawa GMA riverbank · Owner run
Budget
Outside the gate
Owner/family-run
Closed until further notice. When it was running it was one of the cheapest beds in the valley and a favourite with Zambian residents driving down for a weekend: self-cater or hand it over to the kitchen, and no national park entry fee unless you cross into the park. Ownership nationality is not documented, so we have not claimed it either way.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Three private campsites, each for self-sufficient campers
- Rooms sleep up to 16, with interleading doors for families
- The baobab climb on the property
- About three hours' drive from Lusaka
- No national park fee unless you cross into the park
Cons
- Closed until further notice, confirmed by the lodge in September 2026
- No reopening date given
- Website still describes the property as if open
- Ownership nationality not documented
What's here
- Swimming pool
- Campsite
- En-suite bathrooms
- Self-catering
Arranged from the lodge:
- Fishing
Read from Wildtracks Lodge's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Lower Zambezi National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entry$25 if you are with a licensed operator instead of self-driving.
- $30per person, per day
- VehicleUnder 3 tonnes, foreign registered.
- $15per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $225 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Camps inside the park bundle a bed-night levy and community fee on top, which together run $85 to $120 per person per night. That is the number that lands on your invoice, not the gate fee.
The full fee schedule for Lower Zambezi National ParkRates at Wildtracks Lodge
Closed, no rates. The lodge and the campsites are shut. Wildtracks told us so directly on 1 September 2026, from two separate addresses of their own, and gave no reopening date. Their website is reachable again as of 4 September 2026 but carries no notice either way, so write to them if you want to be told when it changes. We have left the description below as it was, because it describes the place people remember, not somewhere you can book tonight.
What the rate covers is not confirmed. We do not know yet whether meals, drinks and activities are included, so read this as the bed only.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Indicative 2026 rates from operators' own rate cards, gathered July 2026. Always confirm with the lodge. Two things shift the real comparison here. First, camps inside the park add $85 to $120 per person per night in bundled park and conservation fees, and most quote that separately. Second, camps in the Chiawa game management area carry no national park entry fee at all unless you cross into the park, which is why a GMA bed can work out far cheaper than the headline rate suggests.
Questions about Wildtracks Lodge
Is Wildtracks Lodge open?
No. Wildtracks told us directly, from two separate addresses, that it is closed until further notice as of 1 September 2026, with no reopening date given. Its website became reachable again on 4 September 2026 but carries no notice either way, so write to the lodge directly if you want to know when that changes.
What was Wildtracks Lodge like when it was open?
It was one of the cheapest beds in the valley, popular with Zambian residents on a weekend break. Rooms slept up to 16 with interleading doors, which suited families, plus a secluded safari tent with its own kitchen and three self-sufficient campsites. It sat in the game management area, so no national park fee applied unless you crossed into the park.
Is Wildtracks Lodge good for families?
When it was trading, yes: its ensuite rooms had interleading doors, described on the lodge's own site as suited to families. That description is now out of date, since the lodge is closed until further notice as of September 2026, so there is nothing currently bookable to assess for a family trip.
Can you self-drive to Wildtracks Lodge?
The property sits about three hours' drive from Lusaka, 15 km downstream of the Zambezi and Kafue confluence, in the Chiawa game management area. That said, the lodge is closed until further notice, so there is no current booking to drive to; contact Wildtracks directly for any update.