The largest city of Zambia, Lusaka is also the capital city.  Lusaka took title to capital from Zambia’s southernmost city, Livingstone, due to its more centralized location.  The seat of government was established in Lusaka in 1935, when the country was still called Northern Rhodesia, and it remained here when the Republic of Zambia became independent in 1964.

It is said that all roads lead to Lusaka, a vibrant city of almost 2 million people.  For Zambia, Lusaka is the commercial center as well as the seat of government.  The city is a popular destination for vacationing Zambians and foreign tourists alike.

For tourists exploring Zambia, Lusaka offers glimpses of traditional, timeless Africa blended into a more urban, contemporary city.  The city’s bustling markets are filled with artisans, food vendors, and merchants selling many of today’s modern conveniences right along side of crafts and hand-made goods created in the same way for a thousand years.  Tourists looking to find the best bargains may want to think about bartering some favorite items from the West that are hard to come by in Zambia – T-shirts, batteries, sneakers.

For travelers looking for the glitz and glamour of sophisticated nightlife in the heart of Zambia, Lusaka can satisfy that yearning, too.  Nightclubs can be found in upscale hotels and scattered throughout the trendier neighborhoods.  For the more daring traveler who likes to experience local flavor from the native perspective, a night to remember may be an evening spent visiting one of the local shebeens, roadhouses serving unlicensed liquor that dot the highways of the countryside.

Making for a very pleasant visit, the climate in Lusaka is mild and mostly sunny all year long with temperatures ranging from about 50 degrees in the winter to highs around 90 during the warmer months.  During periods without cooling rains, the temperatures can be expected to become a bit uncomfortable.  Otherwise, the average humidity in this lovely city is often below 40 percent.