Lusaka

Lusaka has little appeal to travellers. It was founded at the start of the 20th century and until the 1930's it was just a small village. In 1931 it became the capital and when modern means of transportation became available to large parts of the population in the 1960's, the city started booming. There are many wide boulevards, lined with trees and distances are large, as the city is spread out over a vast area.

One of the major attractions in Lusaka is the Kamwala Market, a huge, busy open-air market where everything imaginable is for sale. Another busy market is the New City Market. Both are west of Cairo Road, which is the main road through Lusaka's central business disctrict (CBD). It is the historical site where the original colonial city was founded in 1905.

To the east of CBD is the area where all the government buildings are located. Most of the wealthier parts of Lusaka are also there. The majority of the city's inhabitants live in shanty towns though. They are mostly on the other sides of Lusaka.

There are several museums in Lusaka, of which the National Museum is the most important one. There are also numerous art galleries in the city and about 20 km from Lusaka, in the town of Chilanga, on the road towards Kafue are the Munda Wanga Zoo and Botanical Gardens. It is an excellent place to get away from the capital with all its traffic, people and noise.

There are many hotels and guesthouses in Lusaka, as well as restaurants. Good food is also available from the stalls at the market. There are several large shopping malls along Great East Road. The railway station is west of the city center and the coach station is only a few blocks away. The airport is about 10 km northeast of town.