South Luangwa
THE LUANGWA RIVER Writer: John Coppinger Photography: Remote Africa Safaris, Scott Ramsey
T
he Luangwa River never ceases to fascinate and beguile me. How many rivers are there left on earth that flow for over 1,000 kilometres and are still as untouched, remote, healthy and scenically beautiful as the Luangwa? It’s pristine: no dams, no commercial agriculture and no livestock. Certainly no other river in Africa can make such a claim.
The river has a dramatic beginning, rising high in the Mafinga Hills, a plateau of over 7,000 feet and situated in the far northeast of Zambia. The source itself is a spring located just to the west of the watershed which forms the international boundary between Malawi and Zambia. This spring soon becomes a beautiful crystal-clear stream which runs through tropical forest and cascades down the Mafingas before reaching the valley floor, taking on the unique and unmistakable character of the Luangwa as most people know it. The Upper Luangwa is lined with dense reed beds and offers the stunning backdrop of the Makutu
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TRAVEL & LEISURE ZAMBIA
Mountains to the east and the Muchingas to the west.
The Middle Luangwa supports some of the finest wildlife concentrations in Africa and flows adjacent to and through three national parks: North Luangwa, Luambe and South Luangwa. There are three gorges along the river, all along the Lower Luangwa: the first and most spectacular is in Chief Luembe’s country; the second just upstream of the confluence with the Lunsemfwa River and the third where this river is constricted between the Nyankongolo Hills, shortly before the confluence, where the Luangwa disperses into the Zambezi River. The river flows entirely within Zambia although a small section near the Zambezi confluence forms part of the international boundary with Mozambique.
The gorge in Chief Luembe’s country, through the Kampeketa range of hills, produces some of the most beautiful, rugged country along the course of the river. There are a number of rapids in the gorge, commencing with the most impressive, Chipinda cha Nyanga— ‘place of bad spirits’— which acquired its name from the
