Zambia

Zambia - interactive overview map

 

Wikipedia article about Zambia

 

Main attractions

Highlights of Zambia are:

• Waterfalls. Zambia shares with Zimbabwe one of the greatest natural monuments of the world – Mosi-oa-Tunya or Victoria Falls. There are countless other impressive waterfalls in the country, such as Kalambo Falls, Lumangwe Falls and many others.
• Prehistoric rock art. In the country have been found hundreds of sites with prehistoric paintings and engravings. This art shows people and animals, but often also – geometric symbols.

Natural landmarks

Waterfalls

• Chisimba Falls (Chishimba Falls) – Northern Province. Several consecutive falls on Luombe River. Upper are Mutumuna Falls, 20 m high – this still serves as a site of offerings. Then follow Kayela Rapids and finally – the 30 m tall Chishimba Fall. Sacred place to Bemba people.
• Kabwelume Falls – Northern Province. Some of the most beautiful falls in Zambia. Waterfall has complex morphology, where the lower step is made of numerous smaller steps. Sacred site.
• Kalambo Falls – Northern Province in Zambia and Rukwa in Tanzania. 221 - 235 m tall, single plunge waterfall. Second tallest uninterrupted fall in Africa. Important archaeological site – a site of human settlement since 300 000 BC, starting from Acheulian culture.
• Kundabwika Falls – Northern Province. Two closely located, impressive falls on Kalungwishi River. The largest waterfall is 25 m high, up to 70 m wide. This is sacred place to local people. Nearby are found prehistoric cliff paintings.
• Kundalila Falls – Central Province. Approximately 70 m tall falls on Kaombe River. Falls are sliding down along a cliff, divided into multiple smaller streams. Waterfall has formed an impressive canyon with a pool.
• Lumangwe Falls – Northern Province. Some of the largest falls in Zambia, 30 – 40 m tall and 160 m wide. The force of falling water creates eternal mist and constant tremble of earth.
• Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls) - Southern Province in Zambia and Matabeleland in Zimbabwe. Extremely powerful falls, these are 1737 metres wide and 107 metres high. They are some of the most impressive natural sights in world.
• Mumbuluma Falls – Luapula Province. A set of two consecutive falls, some 5 and 10 m tall. A temple with eternal fire and priests is located near the falls.
• Ntumbachushi Falls – Luapula Province. Group of falls on Ngona River. Main falls are twin falls, each 10 m wide and some 30 m high. For more than 2 km upstreams from these falls are many more falls and waterfalls, forming a beautiful landscape with relict stands of tropical rainforest.
• Nyambwezi Falls – North-Western Province. Some 20 m high waterfall with a single plunge. At the waterfall there is rock shelter with petroglyphs and remnants of a Late Stone Age settlement.
• Sioma Ngonye Falls (N’Gonye) – Western Province. Second largest waterfall in Zambia – here Zambezi River forms a 10 – 25 m high and more than 2 km wide waterfall.

Gemstone finds

• Kagem Emerald Mine – Copperbelt Province. Here are mined some of the best emeralds in the world, in some aspects surpassing the famous Colombian emeralds. Zambian emeralds have a rich, deep green color, crystals have very high quality.
• Mapatizya Amethyst Mine – Southern Province. Here are found some of most spectacular amethysts in the world. The find is very rich and amethysts here are virtually everywhere.

 

 

Other natural landmarks

• Chirundu Fossil Forest – Southern Province. Site with unusual monuments – fossilized trunks of Dadyoxlon sp. and Rhexoxylon africanum trees from Jurassic age with diametre up to 1.5 m and length up to 10 m. These are coniferous trees which were growing here some 150 million years ago.
• Kabwe Big Tree – Central Province. Giant Ficus sp. tree in the center of Kabwe. Traditional meeting place of people.
• Lake Ishika – Copperbelt Province. Unusual sinkhole, filled with lake. To the visitor is seen only a 90 by 50 m large opening with lake in it, but under the lake level it the walls of the sinkhole recede. This opening is just a small hole in enormous underground void, filled with water. There are bones of large animals on the bottom of the lake.
• Lake Kashiba – Copperbelt Province. Lake in a sinkhole. The lake is 220 by 160 m large, it is approximately 100 m deep. Lake level is some 10 m below the rims of sinkhole. Water in the lake is lucid, deep blue. Numerous legends are linked to this lake, including a legend about lake monster. There are more similar sinkholes in this region.
• Lunsemfwa Wonder Gorge – Central Province. Enormous canyon of Lunsemfwa River. This 20 km long canyon is up to 500 m deep and approximately 1 km wide at the top.

Man made landmarks

Prehistoric rock art

• Kalemba Rock Art – Eastern Province. This rock shelter has been used by people since 35 000 BC up to 17th century AD. It is adorned with two groups of prehistoric paintings, showing people and animals.
• Katolola Rock Paintings – Eastern Province. Two groups of prehistoric rock paintings. One shows an eland, drawn in high quality – it might be drawn in Late Stone Age. Another group of paintings consists of grids and concentric rings. There are numerous marks left by stones thrown against the wall. This group of paintings might be related to rain-making ceremonies of Iron Age.
• Kifubwa Stream Rock Engravings – North-Western Province. Late Stone age shelters and engravings along the Kifubwa Gorge, created circa 4500 – 4000 BC.
• Mkoma Rock Art – Eastern Province. Site of interesting rock paintings. These prehistoric paintings show intricate grid and something similar to a comet with a long tail. Another group of paintings shows people and animals, here are shown also iron tools.
• Mwela Rock Paintings, Lwimbo Rock Paintings and other rock painting sites – Northern Province. There are more than 1000 sites with Late Stone age – early Iron Age rock paintings in the cliffs to the east from Kasama town. Petroglyphs are stylised, some seem to be related to fertility cult, some are showing animals, hunting scenes. Interesting is a scene in Sumina Lion Cave, which shows how a soul from the lion enters a man.
• Nachikufu Cave – Northern Province. Enormous cave with diverse prehistoric rock paintings. There are naturalistic paintings showing animals and humans, sometimes hunting animals. Later drawings show geometric patterns – grids.
• Nsalu Cave Paintings – Central Province. A cave shelter, inhabited at least 20 000 years ago up to 1000 AD. Walls have the most diverse prehistoric paintings in Zambia. With yellow color are painted diverse symbols, over these paintings with rust-red also are painted geometrical ornaments, including concentric rings. Next layer is red and white paintings or parallel lines and dots. Last layer is in grey color and also consists of geometric figures, there are drawn also humans.
• Thandwe Rockshelter – Eastern Province. An settlement inhabited since 1st century BC. Walls are adorned with paintings. The oldest drawings show animals, which later have been covered by rough paintings of geometrical ornaments. Latest painting shows an automobile.

Other man made landmarks

• Lealui Royal palace and village – Western Province. The residence of Lealui kings. Here in 1878 – 1902 were built the buildings forming a royal quarter. Lealui is located in Zambezi floodplains with a distinct cultural landscape with multiple channels linking villages of a round form, located on low mounds. Local people continue to live according to the beliefs of their ancestors.
• Mumbwa Caves – Central Province. Ancient site of human settlement, inhabited since the Middle Stone Age up to the Iron Age.
• Shiwa Ngandu country house – Northern Province. Imposing English-style country house with surrounding gardens. Estate was built by eccentric English aristocrat Stewart Gordon-Browne in 1920 – 1950ies. There was developed whole utopian village with schools, shops, post office and other infrastructure.
• Victoria Falls Bridge - Southern Province in Zambia and Matabeleland in Zimbabwe. Impressive steel bridge with a single, 156.5 m long arch, constructed in 1905. It rises 128 m above the Zambezi river near Victoria Falls.