Things to do in Zakouma National Park
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Zakouma National Park
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
The best window: Tinga open, Camp Nomade running from mid-December, wildlife concentrating on the pans, coolest safari temperatures.
Hot late dry season with the biggest concentrations at the last water. Camp Nomade closes in mid-April.
The season's tail: severe heat, first storms building, and Tinga's documented closure begins on 16 May.
The rains: the floodplain inundates, camps close, tracks are impassable and tourism stops completely.
The reopening: waters recede and Tinga's documented closure ends on 14 November, with early trips dependent on how the rains ended.
What's on
- Camp Nomade season mid-December to mid-April
The mobile camp's historic operating season at the height of the dry season, on invitation only terms in current listings.
- Tinga Camp season mid-November to mid-May
The main camp's documented season, closed from 16 May to 14 November each year in an operator record.
Best things to do in Zakouma National Park
Zakouma Floodplain Game Drives
Long drives from water to water across floodplain and acacia, with lions, buffalo herds and almost no other vehicles.
The Single Elephant Herd
The recovered herd moves as one vast group, hundreds strong, after poaching cut the park from over 4,000 elephants to about 450.
Kordofan Giraffe
More than half of the world's remaining Kordofan giraffes live here, coming down to the pans to drink in nervous groups.
Rigueik Pan
The park's best known dry season pan, drawing cranes, geese, pelicans, buffalo and giraffe to the last shallow water.
Salamat River and Riverine Forest
The seasonal river and its wooded banks are the park's green spine, holding shade, pools and crocodiles into the dry season.
The Conservation Story at Park Headquarters
A headquarters visit and staff briefing on the African Parks recovery, the rhino return and the villages around the park.
Where to stay in Zakouma National Park
Inside Zakouma National Park
the only base, all safari styles
All guest accommodation sits inside the park under African Parks, with safaris, meals and guiding bundled into the camp.
Think twice about
- Salamat and the rest of Chad, for leisure travel today
Leisure travel to Chad does not happen today, and Salamat is closed to leisure trips in current conditions. A safari is not essential travel.
- Borkou, Ennedi Ouest, Ennedi Est and Tibesti provinces
Chad's northern provinces are closed to travel in current conditions.
- Lake Chad region and western Kanem including Nokou
The Lake Chad region and the western part of Kanem Province are closed to travel in current conditions.
- Within 30 km of Chad's other borders
The border belt within 30 km of Chad's other borders is closed to travel in current conditions.
Best restaurants in Zakouma National Park
Camp Salamat Self Catering
Your own cooking at the self catering campsite: supplies planned for the whole stay, with no shop or cafe attached.
Tinga Camp Kitchen
The park's dining room: camp meals in the main area on the safari rhythm, included in the documented camp rate.
Camp Nomade Kitchen
Dinner at outside tables under lanterns by an open fire, a luxury level camp kitchen for eight guests at most.
Kashkasha Market Grills
Grills smoking over fatty goat at the Saturday market, eaten hot where the queue is, at local prices in small notes.
Outdoor things to do in Zakouma National Park
Night Drives
Afternoon drives roll past dark into spotlight work famous for serval, genet, civet, honey badger and lions on the move.
Walking Safaris
Guided, ranger accompanied walks from camp, including riverbank walks and, on the famous record, walking with the elephant herd.
Birding on the Pans
A 373 species list and sheer abundance: quelea in their millions, crowned cranes, pelicans, storks and spoonbills at one pan.
Fly Camping on the Salamat River
A night or two in a mobile fly camp on the Salamat's banks, inside a guided week, sleeping where the herds move at night.
Kashkasha Saturday Market
The camp's Saturday excursion to a working livestock and goods market in the village outside the park boundary.
Best hotels in Zakouma National Park
Camp Salamat
The park's self catering campsite downstream from Tinga, mainly serving the local market, with basic thatched tents.
Tinga Camp
The park's main camp: 24 chalets under tamarind trees on the Salamat, meals and twice daily safaris in the reported rate.
Camp Nomade
An eight tent mobile nomad style camp by the Rigueik wetland, mid-December to mid-April, now invitation only in current listings.
Is Zakouma National Park expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | FCFA 35,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | FCFA 100,000 a person |
| Splurge | FCFA 1,200,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Zakouma Floodplain Game Drives: months ahead
- The Single Elephant Herd: months ahead
- Kordofan Giraffe: months ahead
- Rigueik Pan: months ahead
- Salamat River and Riverine Forest: months ahead
- The Conservation Story at Park Headquarters: months ahead
- Night Drives: months ahead
- Walking Safaris: months ahead
- Book the camp first, months ahead for the December to February peak. The park invitation letter follows a confirmed booking once passport details are supplied. Camp Nomade is invitation only in current listings, never a simple online booking.
Is Zakouma National Park safe?
- A yellow fever certificate is required for Chad. Zakouma is a malaria area, tsetse flies bite along the wooded Salamat, and medical services in Chad are extremely limited, so evacuation cover that explicitly includes Chad is essential in any future window.
Zakouma National Park travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Any operator willing to run the trip while Chad is closed to leisure travel, any cheap informal road transfer, and any promise of a Zakouma trip in the June to October flood months.
Getting around Zakouma National Park: public transport and more
- Charter flights from N'Djamena reach the park airstrip in about two hours. The road takes 14 to 18 hours of driving and is usually split with a night around Mongo. Inside the park, all movement is by camp vehicle, camp guide and camp ranger.
Who Zakouma National Park suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Zakouma National Park your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store