Puku Pan is a small but unique lodge on an isolated stretch of the Kafue river in the Namwala West game management area.
It about four hours drive or a 40-minute flight from Lusaka and is located deep in brachystegia woodland that is broken by extraordinarily shaped kopjes.
For those interested in bird life or fishing, Puku Pan is a delight; well over three hundred species of birds have been identified in the area and bream, barbell, catfish and pike are plentiful.
For those interested in wildlife and conservation, the populations of kudu, impala, puku, hartebeest and bushbuck are high while those of kudu, elephant, zebra and lion are growing as the game conservation efforts of the lodge owners and the animals recognize the lodge and its environs as a safe haven.
The lodge is named after the Puku, an antelope similar in size and behaviour to the impala but closely related to the lechwe. Livingstone was the first white man to describe this antelope and he retained the name given to it by the people of the area.
The cottages are built along the river with views across its 200-meter expanse with hippo and crocodile visible throughout the day, and the hippos stroll through the lodge grounds during the night to graze further inland.
Each cottage has a large verandah and separate shower and/or bath and toilet, with plenty of hot water. The cottages provide accommodation for 14 guests and are built of cement block and wood, and finished in local timber, thatch and mud daub.
The bar and dining areas overlook the river providing a spectacular view and there is a sheltered viewing area with comfortable seats on the swamp and pools at the back of the lodge. There is a double-roomed cottage for self-catering guests.
A campsite with shower and toilet block and a two storeyed viewing deck has been constructed down river from the lodge.
On foot, in an open Land Rover, or by boat. Puku Pan offers an incredible game viewing experience. No gates, no fences, no other tourists.
Just your small group and an experienced guide wandering free in nature’s kingdom. Here you may see big game like elephant, lion and leopard, and of coarse, the plentiful antelope that roam the entire area.