Mfuwe

Mfuwe is a small village in the Eastern Province of Zambia, known as a gateway to South Luangwa National Park.

Understand

Mfuwe isn't so much a village as a long strip of road connecting the airport to the Mfuwe Bridge over the Luangwa River. The center of Mfuwe, in the loosest sense of the word, is around the BP petrol station.

Get in

By plane

The grandly-named Mfuwe International Airport (MFU) is a gravel strip offering regular flights to Lusaka, Livingstone and Lilongwe (Malawi). Flights are daily in the high season but sporadic (or stopped entirely) in the low season, although the airstrip is all-weather and chartering is always an option. The airport is about 25 km from Mfuwe Bridge, transfers should be arranged in advance with your accommodations but, in a pinch, you can radio them from Moondogs Cafe to arrange pickup.

By road

Mfuwe is about 3 hours by car from Chipata (123 km) in the dry season, but the road is not tarred and travel is more difficult, occasionally even impossible, in the wet season. From Chipata, it's 2-3 hours to Lilongwe and 8-10 hours to Lusaka.

Pickup trucks lurch down the same road in 5 hours on a good day.

Get around

There is no public transport as such. Safari lodges typically throw in free airport transfers, but charge around $20-30 for other trips.

See & Do

Nothing — for practically all visitors, Mfuwe is just the gateway to South Luangwa National Park.

Buy

Mfuwe has one shop of significant interest:

Mango Tree Crafts, on airport road near turnoff to Chipata, =>. The home base of Tribal Textiles, this workshop has local artisans producing both traditional and less traditional designs. There are free 20-minute tours of the disarmingly simple production process: draw designs with flour and water, apply paint, wash off flour and bake in an oven. Most of their output is exported worldwide, so while the prices in the outlet shop may seem a little steep by Zambian standards (US$20 for a pack of napkins?), they're still far cheaper than in, say, New York.

Eat

Moondogs Cafe, at the airport. Run by the folks behind Flatdogs Camp, this friendly cafe-restaurant offers tacos, drinks and a wealth of information. You can use their radio to contact camps or lodges.

Sleep

Safari lodges in and around South Luangwa National Park are listed separately in that article.

Cobra Guesthouse, opposite BP. Very basic rooms from US$2.50.

Contact

Mobile network coverage in Mfuwe is spotty at best, so the primary means of communication is radio. Every lodge, tourist-oriented shop and not a few vehicles have radios for fast, reliable communication.

Stay safe

Mfuwe is regularly raided by wild animals, particularly elephants, after dark. Stay indoors.