A Hard Day For Green Safaris: Ila Boma Fire

Green Safaris is immensely saddened to announce that a fire engulfed the main area of Ila Safari Lodge last night, resulting in the closure of Ila for the immediate future.

Be assured that all Ila Safari Lodge team and guests are safe and well.

The Fire

The fire started at approximately midnight. While the boma area (reception, dining, bar, and pool) has been lost entirely, we are relieved to say that all our guest rooms remain intact and unaffected.

Our Ila Safari Lodge team acted immediately, ensuring that all guests were safe and protecting our wild Kafue from the blaze so the fire was entirely contained within the main area. At the time of writing this blog, we have an expert team on site conducting a thorough investigation into exactly what happened.

Upcoming Bookings at Ila

If you have a booking at Ila Safari Lodge in the next couple of months, don’t worry! Our team is going above and beyond to protect the Zambian safari experiences of our guests.

Our reservations team has already reached out to most agents and guests with upcoming bookings and enquiries and has enabled smooth transitions to other properties for these clients.

Agents, if you haven’t heard from us yet, be assured that your dedicated reservations consultant will be reaching out over the next few days. If you have any immediate questions, contact us at reservations@greensafaris.com, and we will respond as quickly as possible.

Upcoming guests are asked to contact their Tour Operator or Travel Agent directly for more information.

When Will Ila Safari Lodge Be Open Again?

We are already hard at work to assess the damage and make a plan moving forwards. The tentative plan is to have a temporary boma in place by August to provide guests with a luxurious, if short-term, place to gather and dine on the banks of the Kafue River.

We then aim to have a new building complete by the end of the year. We will provide an update on this once we have more definite information.

Remembering The Ila Boma: The Start Of Our Green Safaris Journey

The Ila Boma was the first big thing Green Safaris ever built, the first real ‘Green Safaris’ space. With its distinctive semi-circular structure; pioneering sand-bag building techniques; and the two iconic palm trees at the heart, the Ila boma was the cornerstone of our commitment to sustainable safaris. Our team is devastated by the loss, not only of our guests over the next few months but also of this piece of our history.

However, at the core of Green Safaris is the understanding that the only constant is change. True sustainability is based on the ability to grow and adapt. We will take this time to regret the loss of our first-ever boma, and then we will use the new techniques and knowledge that we have gained since then to build something that represents the Green Safaris we have become.

Thank You

We would like to thank you for your support during this difficult period of transition.

Most importantly, we are thankful every day for our incredible team and their unwavering commitment to the Green Dream.