Zakouma National Park- Travel Tips

What to See, How to Plan & Tours

Reviews of Zakouma National Park

• Karin Sinniger

  3

  Reviewed: 2024-03-28

  Zakouma and the Chadian government has done a terrific job of bringing wildlife back from the brink. The elephants in particular were decimated by Somalian poachers from neighboring Darfur during the conflict there and the approx. 500 left abandoned their matriarchal life, stopped breeding and grouped together just to survive. They are now up to 800 but are still very skittish around humans. We were dismayed at a female elephant with a baby charging and shrieking at us in terror. But if you are lucky, you will see 300 or so at a time coming to bathe in the river in a joyful manner if they feel safe. We sadly missed this, this but our Kenyan guide said he had tears streaming down his eyes witnessing this and thinking about how much the animals here have been through. And it's not just the elephants who are skittish. This means you can't expect the same close encounters with wildlife that you can in Botswana or East Africa. But it may be more authentic? Bird enthusiasts will like Zakouma because of its profuse bird life. Even non birders will be impressed by the red billed quelea murmurations. Over three days we saw cheetah; herds of water buffalo; a serval cat; genet; civet; a few lions and elephants; and mating mob. Although most of the action was on our first afternoon/evening game drive. After that, the animals moved to other watering holes and few visitors saw game. (This was in early March.) Breakfast starts at 5:30 AM for 6 AM game drives. It is a very simple continental breakfast but you can pay extra for eggs. Lunch is served around 12:00-12:30 PM with the afternoon game drives starting at 3:30 PM until around 7 PM or longer if there is action. The food (included in the package) is good but vegetarians just get pasta and potatoes unless you ask for more protein and give examples. They have well water that is filtered for free or you can buy plastic bottled water. Drinks are extra. There is a next day laundry service. (Extra charge.) Staff are very friendly and helpful but only the manager speaks English. Each safari vehicle is assigned coordinates in which to drive in to ensure each group gets a private safari experience, so you can't decide where you want to go. However, they do make sure you get to see different areas of the park during your time there. The driver/guides are well trained and enthusiastic but the guides who speak English work at the upscale Camp Nomad (see below, which is why most groups bring in a wildlife guide from Kenya). You should absolutely book a one night Salamat River fly camping experience. The tents and bedding (proper sheets, pillow and mattress in a zipped up bag) are very comfortable and they set up toilet and shower tents. Book this in advance as it's popular. The main camp is at Tinga. It consists of 24 2 person concrete rooms. The design is very poor (small windows; concrete; roof doesn't cover walls to keep sun off them) which means you bake (except in the cold winter months) as the ceiling and floor fan just move hot air around. It's like a hair dryer constantly blowing on you. The only way to sleep is to soak a sarong in cold water and wrap it around you. It will quickly dry but hopefully you'll drift off before then. The older rondavels are reportedly cooler than the newer rooms. There are no cupboards, but there is a desk and table. The beds have mosquito netting. There is a power bank in each room to charge devices but make sure it works when they take you to your room! Each room has ensuite shower and toilet with TP and soap provided. Some of our group got daily cleaning, others didn't. There is free, slow WIFI in a common area behind the main restaurant area. Zakouma also boasts a high end camp called Camp Nomad. It overlooks a river plain and the rooms are in spacious tents. Groups such as Steppes Travel (Doug Macdonald Kenya based guide) stay here. It's 2 hours to fly to Zakouma on an Airmax private charter from N'Djemena or 2 days driving by 4 WD.

• Roderic Plinston

  5

  Reviewed: 2023-01-14

  One of the national parks with the most abundance of wildlife - but also one of the quietest in terms of human visitors…. You may often be the ONLY group in the park on a game drive…awesome photo opportunities!

• Mohamed belfakih

  5

  Reviewed: 2020-09-03

  “I just wish the world was twice as big and half of it was still unexplored.” - David Attenborough . A sundowner view at one of the wildest and hands down the most wildlife and birdlife rich safari and wilderness area in Africa. . - Zakouma, southeastern Chad 🇹🇩, one of the most remarkable conservation stories in the world.

• Bechir Haroun

  5

  Reviewed: 2019-11-10

  Zakouma National Park has experienced one of the most spectacular transformations in all of Africa. The national park is part of the Greater Zakouma Ecosystem—the primary safe haven for Central and West African wildlife—but between 2002-2010, poachers on horseback ransacked the park, decimating its natural resources while stirring fear and insecurity in local communities. In total, 4,000 elephants—95% of Zakouma’s population—were slaughtered for their ivory

• Evan Everywhere

  5

  Reviewed: 2019-05-14

  A wonderful parqué, un the dry season or the wet season. Most people will visit from January to March or late April. If you want to see African wildlife, Zakouma will give you all that you can handle. Hopefully you can handle getting there....it is spectacular!