Kalambo Falls Tanzania and Zambia: A Complete Travel Guide

Kalambo Nature Forest Reserve is located in Kalambo District, Rukwa Region and has an area of 43,334ha. The reserve’s prominent tourist feature is the Kalambo Waterfalls, which also forms the border between Tanzania and Zambia. The kalambo waterfalls is the 2nd biggest fall in Africa with a single fall of 250m. (one of the tiers of the Tugela Falls in South Africa is the second highest in the world).

Apart from the Kalambo waterfalls there are attractions like the Kalambo Gorge in the downstream of the waterfalls, a lovely beach near Lake Tanganyika, a hot water spring at Kizombwe village, cultural attractions like Rungu Drama from Kalambo village and various archaeological resources.

In fact the Tanzania Zambia boundary is defined by the Kalambo River all the way to the massive Lake Tanganyika which is shared by a foursome of countries (i.e. Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Zambia and Tanzania) in itself.

May/June period is peak flow of the waterfall. But this relies on how much rain the region gets during its rainy season from January to April. Later in the year there is less run. We’ve talked to some locals who say the falls definitely won’t be remarkable in October or November.

Few visitors understand that the Kalambo Falls are also one of southern Africa’s most important archaeological sites. A site just above the falls on the river side seems to have been occupied during most of the Stone Age and early Iron Age. The tools and other relics found there may be more than 300,000 years old and include evidence of the usage of fire.

For years Kalambo has yielded the earliest evidence for fire in sub-Saharan Africa: charred logs, ash and charcoal found in the lowest strata of deposits. It was a huge stride for Stone-Age man . Because it allowed him to stay warm and cook food . And to use fire to frighten away agressive animals . Burning patches of grass may have even aided his hunting. But new digs in older sites in Africa have shown evidence of fire being used before the period we think this site at Kalambo was occupied.