Samfya is a town located in the 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....

n province of Luapula

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....

. It is the center of Samfya District

Samfya District

Samfya District is located in Luapula Province, Zambia. The headquarters is at Samfya.Most of Samfya District is lake, swamp of floodplain. It covers Lake Bangweulu and the Bangweulu swamps, except for the north-east corner which lies in Chilubi District of Northern Province. The only extensive dry...

. The town is located on the south-western shore of Lake Bangweulu

Lake Bangweulu

Bangweulu — 'where the water sky meets the sky' — is one of the world's great wetland systems, comprising Lake Bangweulu, the Bangweulu Swamps and the Bangweulu Flats or floodplain...

, on the longest stretch of well-defined shore of that lake (the northern, eastern and southern margins of which are marshy). Samfya has a few guesthouses and a number of white sandy beaches which are used for recreation, although the lake does have crocodiles.

In addition to local government offices and branches of national agencies, Samfya is a commercial and fishing centre, as well a centre for transport by boat to islands and other areas of the lake. Its hinterland includes farms and some timber plantations.

The Kwanga Festival of the Njumba people is held in Samfya in October.

Roads

Samfya is on a tarred road opened in 1983 to link the Luapula Province to the Great North Road

Great North Road (Zambia)

The Great North Road is a major route in Zambia, running north from Lusaka through Kabwe, Kapiri Mposhi Serenje, Mpika, Kasama, Mbala and Mpulungu. 82km North of Mpika is a signposted left turn onto a well maintained gravel road leading to Shiwa Ng'andu and Kapishya Hot Springs...

 at Serenje

Serenje

Serenje is a district in Zambia. There is also the town of Serenje lying just off the Great North Road and TAZARA Railway. The British, during the time that Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate, designated Serenje as a BOMA . To this day, the locals refer to Serenje Town as the BOMA....

. This includes the longest bridge in Zambia, the Luapula Bridge in the far south-east corner of the district near where four districts meet: Samfya, Mpika

Mpika

Mpika is a town in the Northern Province of Zambia, lying at the junction of the Great North Road to Kasama and Mbala and the Tanzam Highway to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It also has a railway station on the TAZARA Railway about 5 km away. Mpika is situated between the Muchinga Escarpment to...

, Serenje

Serenje

Serenje is a district in Zambia. There is also the town of Serenje lying just off the Great North Road and TAZARA Railway. The British, during the time that Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate, designated Serenje as a BOMA . To this day, the locals refer to Serenje Town as the BOMA....

 and the Congo Pedicle

Congo Pedicle

The Congo Pedicle refers to the southeast salient of the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo which sticks into neighbouring Zambia almost dividing it into two lobes, like the wings of a butterfly. In area the pedicle is similar in size to Wales or New Jersey...

, part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

. Gravel roads also connect Samfya to Twingi, Kapalala, and Lubwe.