Zambia: Insight Into Untapped North
Times of Zambia February 7, 2008By Doreen Nawa
ZAMBIA remains a land of great natural beauty and much of it still unknown to visitors and Zambians alike. Zambia is privileged to have several wonders like lakes, rivers, forests, waterfalls, mountains and others too numerous to mention. But some of this country's amasing natural treasures (waterfalls) still remain untapped.
Despite Zambia being close to the famous Kalahari and the Namib deserts, it has a lot of unexploited treasures in terms of water falls in almost every province that have never been marketed, and time to market them is now.
The Victoria Falls deserves its reputation as one of the wonders of the world. But many lesser-known falls on Zambia's numerous large rivers are also breathtakingly beautiful. These waterfalls are isolated and unspoiled. Despite them varying in size, they are not tiny at all.
Northern Province is one such gifted province in Zambia with nine waterfalls that to date still remain unknown to millions of people including indigenous Zambians who are residents of this gifted country.
Waterfalls in Zambia are numerous and besides the Northern Province, one other province that is blessed with abundant beauty that has not been exploited is North Western, which houses the source of Zambezi River.
Besides the Victoria Falls which is rated as one of the natural wonders of the world, Zambia has numerous water falls that once marketed could earn this country huge foreign exchange.
The amazing Kalungwishi River in Northern Province has a lot to offer. It houses four beautiful waterfalls that have not been exploited much as compared to the Victoria Falls. A lot has been said and done about the famous mighty Victoria Falls and it is now time to market and maintain the Lumangwe, Chipempe, Kabwelume and Kundabwika falls all on the same Kalungwishi River.
Despite them (waterfalls) being breathtaking, they still remain unexploited because of the inaccessibility of these areas where these waterfalls are.
The road network in this area leaves much to be desired hence the numerous calls from the locals to Government to rehabilitate these roads that are in a deplorable state.
Mr Mutale Bwalya, a fishmonger on the Kalungwishi River said accessibility to the area was a problem because of the bad road network adding that the inaccessibility has contributed to lack of development in the area.
"The road leading to this river is in a terrible state and this is why very few people reach this place to sample what this river has to offer to the economy of this country in terms of tourism," he said.
Mr Bwalya observed that a good road network was a prerequisite to the development of any society hence the need for a good road network leading to these sites.
Lumangwe Falls, with its magnificence, still unexploited by tourists, both local and foreign, is in the Northern Province of Zambia in Mporokoso district, 13 kilometres from the main Kawambwa-Mporokoso road. These waterfalls on the Kalungwishi River are of some grandeur.
The Lumangwe falls is more than thirty metres high and over a hundred metres in width. The mist from the falls nourishes a small forest and the pleasant sand adds to the beauty.
Five kilometres from Lumangwe falls on the same river is the charming Chipempe falls as it unfolds its beauty on one of the fastest moving waters of Zambia.
Kalungwishi has the one of the fastest current and it has a lot of rapids which makes the river unique and life sustaining. Kalungwishi River does not harbour any crocodiles because of its current.
These untapped treasures are worth marketing if Zambia was to truly yield the expected results from the tourism sector and build the economy, which is now slowly coming back to life.
Zambia is blessed in that it has a lot of sites that have not been marketed or publicised to the interested and would-be investors.
Then comes the fascinating Kabweluma, just about two kilometres from Chipempe falls. Kabweluma falls are sensual rather than visual.
This waterfall comes into three sections, each one spilling into the next until the final grand cascade plummets onto a bed of jutting rocks.
The name Kabweluma perfectly captures this final impact of the water. Kabwe is a Bemba name meaning stone or rock, while luma conveys the motion of something hitting against another object with force.
Kundabwika, the fourth waterfall on the famous Kalungwishi River is 110 kilometres from Mporokoso on the Kawambwa road.
Above the falls the river flows gently through a dambo (marshy valley), but in the last kilometre it has a steeply sloping gorge containing two small waterfalls. The main falls is 25 metres high and, during the flood season, extends to a width of 70 metres. Below the falls, the river flows through a small, thickly wooded gorge.
Kundabwika falls are highly considered untouchable because of the shrine attachment that the waterfall has to the local people.
Headman Kapongolo of Kapongolo village in Kasama said his people attach great importance to the waterfalls because of certain rituals and beliefs associated to the waterfalls.
The headman said locals believe that ignoring rituals and prayer at the falls brings about incurable diseases, poor harvest, persistent droughts, and declining standards of living resulting into the shortening of life expectancy.
It is time the value of such heritage is realised and good marketing strategies set to market the waterfalls that are lying without any activity taking place there besides the fishing activity by the locals.
The areas where these waterfalls are located are inaccessible because of the poor road network. These sites are in the remotest parts of this Zambian town of Kasama and there is urgent need for the Government to take up the challenge and construct good roads.
The adage 'an investment in quality is an investment for life,' is not a coincidence for this province which has a lot to offer to investors in tourism and other sectors, but the road network leading to these areas is a let down.
Headman Kapongolo said that no investor be it in the tourism, mining or agricultural sector would show interest to invest in an area where there are no good roads adding that a good road network system is a prerequisite to any development.
Northern Province is blessed with so many treasures that have not been exploited all because of the poor road infrastructure. The place has a lot of potential for all the sectors be it tourism, agriculture or mining and the need to develop it cannot be over emphasised.
A lot of effort has been put on Livingstone in trying to promote tourism in Zambia, as compared to any other Zambian town.
Currently, the road leading to the Victoria Falls is being worked on with a view to increase accessibility to this place, but very little has been done for provinces like Northern that has a lot of natural beauty ideal to be sampled by the visitors that come to visit the Victoria falls.
The three waterfalls have a number of values both socially and scientifically. The community obtain medicinal plants from the site that are used to heal different illnesses, while for the economic point of view, the site could attract a lot of investors that would want to invest in the area.
Scientifically, the rain forests around these areas have great potential for research values due to high diversity of vegetation. The geology, ecology and geomorphology of these sites present educational resource for schools and other institutions of learning.
The forests around these waterfalls are a home of wildlife such as impalas and birds, which are used as food by the local people.
Perhaps the most interesting and visible value is aesthetic. The sites in their fullness have beautiful sceneries that are unique and the most fascinating of it all is that these waterfalls are in one river approximately five kilometres in between each waterfalls.
Unfortunately these waterfalls have not been given much attention in terms of constructing a good road network to the sites.
Despite Zambia being close to the famous Kalahari and the Namib deserts, it has a lot of unexploited treasures in terms of water falls in almost every province that have never been marketed, and time to market them is now.
The Victoria Falls deserves its reputation as one of the wonders of the world. But many lesser-known falls on Zambia's numerous large rivers are also breathtakingly beautiful. These waterfalls are isolated and unspoiled. Despite them varying in size, they are not tiny at all.
Northern Province is one such gifted province in Zambia with nine waterfalls that to date still remain unknown to millions of people including indigenous Zambians who are residents of this gifted country.
Waterfalls in Zambia are numerous and besides the Northern Province, one other province that is blessed with abundant beauty that has not been exploited is North Western, which houses the source of Zambezi River.
Besides the Victoria Falls which is rated as one of the natural wonders of the world, Zambia has numerous water falls that once marketed could earn this country huge foreign exchange.
The amazing Kalungwishi River in Northern Province has a lot to offer. It houses four beautiful waterfalls that have not been exploited much as compared to the Victoria Falls. A lot has been said and done about the famous mighty Victoria Falls and it is now time to market and maintain the Lumangwe, Chipempe, Kabwelume and Kundabwika falls all on the same Kalungwishi River.
Despite them (waterfalls) being breathtaking, they still remain unexploited because of the inaccessibility of these areas where these waterfalls are.
The road network in this area leaves much to be desired hence the numerous calls from the locals to Government to rehabilitate these roads that are in a deplorable state.
Mr Mutale Bwalya, a fishmonger on the Kalungwishi River said accessibility to the area was a problem because of the bad road network adding that the inaccessibility has contributed to lack of development in the area.
"The road leading to this river is in a terrible state and this is why very few people reach this place to sample what this river has to offer to the economy of this country in terms of tourism," he said.
Mr Bwalya observed that a good road network was a prerequisite to the development of any society hence the need for a good road network leading to these sites.
Lumangwe Falls, with its magnificence, still unexploited by tourists, both local and foreign, is in the Northern Province of Zambia in Mporokoso district, 13 kilometres from the main Kawambwa-Mporokoso road. These waterfalls on the Kalungwishi River are of some grandeur.
The Lumangwe falls is more than thirty metres high and over a hundred metres in width. The mist from the falls nourishes a small forest and the pleasant sand adds to the beauty.
Five kilometres from Lumangwe falls on the same river is the charming Chipempe falls as it unfolds its beauty on one of the fastest moving waters of Zambia.
Kalungwishi has the one of the fastest current and it has a lot of rapids which makes the river unique and life sustaining. Kalungwishi River does not harbour any crocodiles because of its current.
These untapped treasures are worth marketing if Zambia was to truly yield the expected results from the tourism sector and build the economy, which is now slowly coming back to life.
Zambia is blessed in that it has a lot of sites that have not been marketed or publicised to the interested and would-be investors.
Then comes the fascinating Kabweluma, just about two kilometres from Chipempe falls. Kabweluma falls are sensual rather than visual.
This waterfall comes into three sections, each one spilling into the next until the final grand cascade plummets onto a bed of jutting rocks.
The name Kabweluma perfectly captures this final impact of the water. Kabwe is a Bemba name meaning stone or rock, while luma conveys the motion of something hitting against another object with force.
Kundabwika, the fourth waterfall on the famous Kalungwishi River is 110 kilometres from Mporokoso on the Kawambwa road.
Above the falls the river flows gently through a dambo (marshy valley), but in the last kilometre it has a steeply sloping gorge containing two small waterfalls. The main falls is 25 metres high and, during the flood season, extends to a width of 70 metres. Below the falls, the river flows through a small, thickly wooded gorge.
Kundabwika falls are highly considered untouchable because of the shrine attachment that the waterfall has to the local people.
Headman Kapongolo of Kapongolo village in Kasama said his people attach great importance to the waterfalls because of certain rituals and beliefs associated to the waterfalls.
The headman said locals believe that ignoring rituals and prayer at the falls brings about incurable diseases, poor harvest, persistent droughts, and declining standards of living resulting into the shortening of life expectancy.
It is time the value of such heritage is realised and good marketing strategies set to market the waterfalls that are lying without any activity taking place there besides the fishing activity by the locals.
The areas where these waterfalls are located are inaccessible because of the poor road network. These sites are in the remotest parts of this Zambian town of Kasama and there is urgent need for the Government to take up the challenge and construct good roads.
The adage 'an investment in quality is an investment for life,' is not a coincidence for this province which has a lot to offer to investors in tourism and other sectors, but the road network leading to these areas is a let down.
Headman Kapongolo said that no investor be it in the tourism, mining or agricultural sector would show interest to invest in an area where there are no good roads adding that a good road network system is a prerequisite to any development.
Northern Province is blessed with so many treasures that have not been exploited all because of the poor road infrastructure. The place has a lot of potential for all the sectors be it tourism, agriculture or mining and the need to develop it cannot be over emphasised.
A lot of effort has been put on Livingstone in trying to promote tourism in Zambia, as compared to any other Zambian town.
Currently, the road leading to the Victoria Falls is being worked on with a view to increase accessibility to this place, but very little has been done for provinces like Northern that has a lot of natural beauty ideal to be sampled by the visitors that come to visit the Victoria falls.
The three waterfalls have a number of values both socially and scientifically. The community obtain medicinal plants from the site that are used to heal different illnesses, while for the economic point of view, the site could attract a lot of investors that would want to invest in the area.
Scientifically, the rain forests around these areas have great potential for research values due to high diversity of vegetation. The geology, ecology and geomorphology of these sites present educational resource for schools and other institutions of learning.
The forests around these waterfalls are a home of wildlife such as impalas and birds, which are used as food by the local people.
Perhaps the most interesting and visible value is aesthetic. The sites in their fullness have beautiful sceneries that are unique and the most fascinating of it all is that these waterfalls are in one river approximately five kilometres in between each waterfalls.
Unfortunately these waterfalls have not been given much attention in terms of constructing a good road network to the sites.
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