Ntumbachushi Falls
Encyclopedia
Ntumbachushi Falls are situated on the Ngona River in Luapula Province
, Zambia
where it runs over the edge of the northern Zambian plateau into the valley of the Luapula River
.
The main falls occur where the river splits into two channels to form two parallel waterfalls each about 10 m wide with a drop of about 30 m, and separated by a distance of 50 m. A small patch of relict rainforest grows in the spray from the falls. During and immediately after the rainy season, November to April, the water coming over the edge may have a depth of up to 1 m, but in the later dry season the flow may reduce to a produce a 'bridalveil' effect.
Ntumbachushi is notable not just for the main falls, however, but for a series of smaller falls and pools stretching for a distance of more than 2 km above the main falls, in a landscape described by many as among the most beautiful in central Africa, with unusual vegetation, rocky outcrops and views over the Luapula valley. The water of the Ngona is filtered by the wetlands (locally called dambos) out of which it drains and is exceptionally clear, affording safe river swimming considered by many visitors to be the best in Zambia.
The falls are 22 km from Mbereshi
on the tarred Kawambwa
road and are reached via a 1 km spur which turns off at the bottom of the escarpment
and approaches the bottom of the main falls. A steep path 20 m on the north side of the main falls leads up and over the rocky cliff and continues for 0.5 km to a place nicknamed 'the beauty spot' consisting of two pools below a falls of about 6 m high and 25 m wide in two sections. Above the main falls there are two further falls with a drop exceeding 5 m.
There are two shrines close to the main falls where local traditional leaders and healers perform rituals.
Luapula Province
Luapula Province is one of Zambia's nine provinces, and is located in the north of the country. The provincial capital is Mansa. Luapula Province was named after the Luapula River....
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
where it runs over the edge of the northern Zambian plateau into the valley of the Luapula River
Luapula River
The Luapula River is a section of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. It is a transnational river forming for nearly all its length part of the border between Zambia and the DR Congo...
.
The main falls occur where the river splits into two channels to form two parallel waterfalls each about 10 m wide with a drop of about 30 m, and separated by a distance of 50 m. A small patch of relict rainforest grows in the spray from the falls. During and immediately after the rainy season, November to April, the water coming over the edge may have a depth of up to 1 m, but in the later dry season the flow may reduce to a produce a 'bridalveil' effect.
Ntumbachushi is notable not just for the main falls, however, but for a series of smaller falls and pools stretching for a distance of more than 2 km above the main falls, in a landscape described by many as among the most beautiful in central Africa, with unusual vegetation, rocky outcrops and views over the Luapula valley. The water of the Ngona is filtered by the wetlands (locally called dambos) out of which it drains and is exceptionally clear, affording safe river swimming considered by many visitors to be the best in Zambia.
The falls are 22 km from Mbereshi
Mbereshi
Mbereshi is a village in the Luapula Province of Zambia, named after the Mbereshi River on its north side. It was the site of a large mission founded in 1900 by the London Missionary Society. In 1915 the mission established the first girls' school in the territory, as well as a boy's school and a...
on the tarred Kawambwa
Kawambwa
Kawambwa is a town in the Zambian province of Luapula located on the edge of the northern Zambian plateau above the Luapula valley at an altitude of 1300 m...
road and are reached via a 1 km spur which turns off at the bottom of the escarpment
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
and approaches the bottom of the main falls. A steep path 20 m on the north side of the main falls leads up and over the rocky cliff and continues for 0.5 km to a place nicknamed 'the beauty spot' consisting of two pools below a falls of about 6 m high and 25 m wide in two sections. Above the main falls there are two further falls with a drop exceeding 5 m.
There are two shrines close to the main falls where local traditional leaders and healers perform rituals.