Mpala Jena
Highlights
- Mpala Jena Camp sits 19 km inside Zambezi National Park, a 40-minute road or boat transfer from Victoria Falls town
- Five spacious tented suites, each with a private veranda looking straight onto the Zambezi River
- Outdoor bathtubs and outdoor showers in every suite
- Three meals a day included, flexible timings, private dining on request and all dietary needs catered for
- Sand-floor bar and a swimming pool that feels as though it sits on the river itself
- Fully solar-powered with battery storage, built to minimise embodied energy and transport miles
- Game drives, guided walks, Zambezi boat cruises, birdwatching and a half-day Victoria Falls tour
- Two 2-bedroom Family Suites and children's activities for ages six and over
Information
- Lodge type: Luxury Tented Safari Camp
- Location: Zambezi National Park, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
- Lodge size: 5 tented suites (3 Suites and 2 two-bedroom Family Suites)
- Recommended stay: 3-7 nights
- Malaria risk: Yes. Victoria Falls and Zambezi National Park are in a malaria area, with the highest risk in the November to April rainy season
- Getting there: Fly into Victoria Falls International Airport; Mpala Jena Camp is a 40-minute road or boat transfer from Victoria Falls town
Discover Barefoot Luxury At Mpala Jena: Your Gateway To Adventure On The Zambezi River!
Mpala Jena Camp is a five-suite luxury tented safari camp on the Zambezi River, 19 kilometres inside Zimbabwe's Zambezi National Park and a 40-minute road or boat transfer upstream of Victoria Falls town. It belongs to the Great Plains Conservation portfolio, the conservation-led safari company behind some of the finest camps in Botswana and Kenya. That pedigree shows in the guiding, the service and the light footprint on this exceptional stretch of river.
Mpala Jena Camp takes its name from the stream that runs through it, itself named for a legendary white impala. Architects Craig Hayman and Hannah Charlton designed the camp with interior designer Tracy Kelly to a clear brief: barefoot luxury. Thatched roofs cover the main areas, flowing canvas tents form the bedrooms, and the whole camp sits on white sand beneath tall riverine trees.
Mpala Jena Camp solves the classic Victoria Falls dilemma. Most visitors stay in town and see the falls. Guests here get the falls on a guided tour, then return to a private stretch of national park where hippos call through the night and elephants come down to the water. For us, it is one of the very best ways to see Victoria Falls.
Rooms And Suites
Mpala Jena Camp has five tented suites: three spacious Suites with large double or twin beds, and two 2-bedroom Family Suites. Every suite sits under flowing sand-coloured canvas with a high canopy ceiling and netted walls that open onto the river, and Tracy Kelly's decor gives each one a relaxed, beautifully layered feel.
Each Mpala Jena suite has:
- A shaded private veranda and deck facing the Zambezi River
- An indoor shower, separate toilet and double basins
- An outdoor bathroom with a freestanding bathtub and outdoor shower, the undoubted star of the suite
Step off the deck in front of your tent and the Zambezi is right there, slow and wide, with fish eagles calling overhead. It is the most peaceful view in Victoria Falls.
Cuisine And Wine
Mpala Jena Camp includes three meals a day plus local wines, beers, spirits and soft drinks. International and imported wines, spirits and champagnes are charged separately. Meal times are wonderfully flexible because this is your safari, and you can choose a shared table or a table of your own.
The à la carte menu is served indoors or out, and private dining can be arranged on request. Mpala Jena's kitchen caters for every dietary requirement, from vegan menus to children's favourites, as long as it is told in advance. Picnic breakfasts and lunches are a camp speciality, laid out on the riverbank or along the inland spring line deep in the bush.
Facilities
Mpala Jena Camp's social heart is a sand-floor bar beside the swimming pool, where shoes come off after the morning game drive or river cruise. The pool lounge sits so close to the water that you feel you are on the river itself. It is the ideal spot for a book during the midday heat, and one of the reasons Mpala Jena ranks among the most sought-after luxury camps near Victoria Falls.
Mpala Jena Camp is fully powered by a solar plant with battery storage. Every building material and design element was chosen to minimise embodied energy and transport miles, so your stay treads lightly on Zambezi National Park.
Activities
Mpala Jena Camp's activities are game drives, guided walks, Zambezi River boat cruises and birdwatching, plus a half-day guided tour of Victoria Falls on stays of two nights or more. Game drives run in custom-built open Land Cruisers stocked with reference books, cold drinks and snacks. The camp sits inside the 56,000-hectare Zambezi National Park, where elephant, buffalo, lion and big herds of plains game use the river frontage, and where hippos and large crocodiles are constant companions.
Activities on the water at Mpala Jena include:
- Morning and afternoon cruises in flat-bottomed motorised boats or a traditional wooden dhow
- Catch-and-release fishing on the Zambezi
- Riverbank sundowners, toes in the sand
All water activities depend on Zambezi River levels.
The Victoria Falls tour is a highlight of any stay at Mpala Jena Camp. It can be combined with Victoria Falls town's other attractions, from the gorge swing to white-water rafting below the falls, at extra cost. Birding is superb all year and peaks from November to April, when migrants arrive and the park turns green.
Child Friendly
Mpala Jena Camp welcomes children aged six and over. Two 2-bedroom Family Suites give parents and children separate bedrooms under one canvas roof. The kitchen caters for young appetites alongside every other dietary need, and the guides run activities designed specifically for children, turning a first safari into a proper adventure.
The Mpala Jena team are warm, attentive and relaxed with families, which makes this one of the easiest camps near Victoria Falls to bring children to.
FAQ
Where is Mpala Jena Camp and how do you get there?
Mpala Jena Camp sits on the Zambezi River, 19 kilometres inside Zambezi National Park and upstream of Victoria Falls in north-western Zimbabwe. Guests fly into Victoria Falls International Airport and transfer to the camp by road or boat; Mpala Jena is 40 minutes from Victoria Falls town. Airport and town transfers are not included in the Mpala Jena rate and are arranged separately as part of a tailor-made itinerary.
Is Mpala Jena Camp in a malaria area?
Yes. Mpala Jena Camp, Zambezi National Park and Victoria Falls all lie in a malaria area, and transmission is highest during the November to April rains. Anyone travelling to Mpala Jena should see a travel doctor about antimalarial medication before departure. After dark, repellent, long sleeves and long trousers are sensible precautions, particularly for families travelling with children.
Who runs Mpala Jena Camp?
Mpala Jena Camp is part of the Great Plains Conservation portfolio in Zimbabwe, the conservation-led safari company headed by Dereck Joubert, and is owned by Kevin and Shannon Lang. Architects Craig Hayman and Hannah Charlton designed the camp with interior designer Tracy Kelly. Great Plains also operates the separate three-bedroom Mpala Jena Private Villas nearby on the same stretch of the Zambezi River.
Is Mpala Jena Camp suitable for children?
Mpala Jena Camp accepts children aged six and over. Two of its five tented suites are 2-bedroom Family Suites, giving parents and children separate rooms under one canvas roof. The kitchen caters for children's meals alongside vegan and other dietary requirements when advised in advance. The camp runs activities designed for children, and boating depends on Zambezi River water levels.
What is included in the Mpala Jena Camp rate?
Mpala Jena Camp rates are quoted per person per night sharing, in US dollars. They include accommodation, all meals, local alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, game drives, guided walks, Zambezi boating, daily laundry, and a half-day Victoria Falls tour on stays of two nights or more. Flights, transfers from Victoria Falls, imported wines and spirits, gratuities and the nightly Zambezi National Park conservation levy are extra.
When is the best time to visit Mpala Jena Camp?
Mpala Jena Camp is open year-round, and the best month depends on what matters most to you. June to October is the dry season, when elephant and buffalo concentrate along the Zambezi and game viewing is strongest. November to April brings the rains and peak birding. Victoria Falls is fullest from roughly February to May, when heavy spray can hide the view, and lowest around October and November.
In Conclusion
Mpala Jena Camp is the Victoria Falls stay to choose if you want the falls and a real safari from the same bed. You see one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa on a guided tour. Then you return to five tented suites on a private stretch of the Zambezi, where the loudest thing at dinner is a hippo, not traffic. Add Great Plains Conservation's guiding, a solar-powered camp and a warm welcome for families, and very few places near the falls come close.
Mpala Jena Camp works best as the Victoria Falls chapter of a longer Zimbabwe or Botswana safari. Three nights gives you the falls tour, a full day on the river and time to do nothing at all by the pool. From here, Hwange's elephant country and Botswana's Chobe River are natural next stops. Come in the dry months from June to October for game at its best, or in the green season from November to April for birds, lush landscapes and the falls building towards full flood.
Uyaphi.com has been planning African safaris since 1999, and 27 years of routing clients through Victoria Falls means we know how to get the timing, transfers and combinations right. There are no booking fees and no credit card surcharges. Tell us when you want to travel and who is coming, and we will build your Mpala Jena stay around you.
Rates from US$ 1 020.00 Per person per night
Mpala Jena Rates
Per person per night sharing
Rates are in US Dollar
*Rates may vary according to season
- Accommodation
- All meals
- Local alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
- Half-day tour of the Victoria Falls (subject to a minimum 2-night stay)
- Game drives, guided walks and boating on the Zambezi River
- Daily laundry
- All flights
- Travel insurance
- Transfers from Victoria Falls Town and Airport
- Any additional Victoria Falls based sighting and activities
- International and imported wines, spirits and champagnes
- items of a personal nature
- Gratuities
- Curio store purchases
- Mandatory Zambezi National Park nightly conservation levy
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