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The waterfall David Livingstone admired — just before he found a bigger one downstream.
Ngonye Falls, Zambia: The Waterfall That Impressed Livingstone, Before Victoria Falls: History & Culture
Ngonye Falls, also called Sioma Falls, is a broad crescent of cascades on the Zambezi River in Western Province, a few hundred kilometres upstream of Victoria Falls. David Livingstone saw it on his way downriver and was impressed — until he reached Victoria Falls a little further on and found it more impressive still. Ngonye has lived in that shadow ever since, which is exactly what makes it worth a detour.
On his 1852-56 journey down the Zambezi, David Livingstone passed Ngonye Falls before he reached the larger falls he would name after Queen Victoria. Contemporary accounts describe him as impressed by Ngonye at the time — only to be more impressed still when he reached Mosi-oa-Tunya downstream. Livingstone’s verdict, in effect, is the reason Ngonye Falls is still a footnote to Victoria Falls in most travel itineraries, despite being a striking waterfall in its own right.
Ngonye’s relative obscurity comes down largely to access: it lies well off Zambia’s main tourist circuit, in a remote part of Western Province reached by rougher roads than the tarred routes to Livingstone and Victoria Falls. That inaccessibility is precisely what keeps visitor numbers low. Downstream of the main falls, the river narrows into gorges cut through sandstone, producing extensive white-water rapids — a further sign of the same rock formations that created the falls themselves.
A handful of small camps operate near the falls, offering river cruises to Ngonye Falls itself, canoeing and kayaking on the Zambezi, excursion trips up the Lumbe River, and picnic stops on the river’s islands. Tiger fishing is popular in the same stretch of water. White-water rafting below the falls is generally best from February to May, once the rains have passed and the river has settled into its main channels; wildlife viewing in the surrounding area is generally best from July to November.
Close to Ngonye Falls, toward the Angolan and Namibian borders, lies Sioma Ngwezi National Park, Zambia’s third-largest at 5,276 km². It holds an estimated 3,000-plus elephants and populations of roan, sable, wild dog and cheetah across Kalahari woodland, and is recovering from historic poaching pressure. Like Ngonye Falls itself, it remains little visited relative to its size and wildlife.
Ngonye Falls is roughly a day’s drive from Lusaka, and most visitors combine it with a stop in Mongu or Livingstone rather than visiting on its own. Exact viewpoints, entry arrangements and current road conditions were not confirmed in this research and are left out rather than guessed; check current details locally in Sioma or Mongu before travelling, especially in the wet season when roads in Western Province can deteriorate and some routes become impassable.
Ngonye Falls offers a genuine, sourced piece of waterfall one-upmanship: a cascade that impressed the man who discovered Victoria Falls, on the same river, without the crowds, infrastructure or entrance fees that now surround its more famous downstream neighbour. For travellers who have already done Victoria Falls and want to see where the Zambezi’s drama continues quietly, this is the detour. Combined with the Kuomboka ceremony and the Barotse Floodplain elsewhere in Western Province, Ngonye Falls rounds out a side of Zambia most Victoria Falls visitors never see.
Ngonye Falls (Sioma Falls) cascades on the Zambezi, Zambezi gorge white-water rapids downstream, Sioma Ngwezi National Park (nearby, elephant, roan, sable), Sioma town and river crossing
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