Mukwa Lodge & Restaurant

Mukwa Lodge sits on Mpezeni Avenue in Kitwe, forty-five minutes from Ndola airport. The family-run lodge has been operating since 1996, with fourteen rooms set in gardens that buffer the city noise. Rooms have Mukwa wood furnishings — a local hardwood — and face either the garden or the pool. The suite adds a private patio; family rooms hold a queen and two singles.

The Marigold restaurant serves Indian, Portuguese and Continental dishes. The Indian menu leans on regional spices; the Portuguese section draws from coastal traditions with garlic, olive oil and piri-piri. Meals are served in a dining room that opens to the garden. The pool is open to all guests.

Business travellers use the lodge for its conference rooms and proximity to Kitwe’s centre. Families come for the pool and the twin or family rooms. The gardens, planted with local species, are the reason the lodge feels quieter than its city location suggests.