Things to see and do Ndola

Lake Kashiba, with its crystal clear turquoise waters, is the most famous of a group of small lakes near Ndola, known as the "sunken lakes", which mysteriously means "sunken lakes". These little-known lakes offer a perfect vacation setting for swimming and wilderness camping. The lakes were formed by the erosion oflimestone several million years ago, as a result of a water current that literally collapsed part of the rocks, leaving a large lake surrounded by high rocks. These high rocks prevent wildlife from inhabiting the lake, so there is no risk of encountering crocodiles or hippos, and you can swim in peace and watch the fish in the crystal clear water. They are also perfect promontories to jump into the water after swinging on a liana. There are spots set up by the locals all around.

A mysterious depth. The lake is 800 meters wide and its depth is about 100 meters on the sides, while its depth in the center remains a mystery: the many divers and researchers who have tried have never managed to measure the bottom but it is estimated to be about 100 meters deep: nobody has ever been able to go down there for the moment.

Legends. This unknown depth of the abyss has fueled mystical beliefs surrounding the lake, including the presence of a monster called "Ichitapa" or "lsoka lkulu" or the myth that leaves and boats floating on the surface of the lake would be sucked to the bottom at night. A monster that captures the shadows of people standing next to the lake, paralyzing them until they fall into the water where they are devoured.

To get there. Lake Kashiba is about 330 km from Lusaka just past Luanshya, in the Mpongwe area, when you take the Great North Road towards the Copperbelt (about an hour's drive past Kapiri Mposhi). Turn left onto the road towards Mpongwe until the road becomes a track and continue for about 15 km. At the sign for Saint Anthony's mission, turn right. Continue to the right on a very bad road for about 500 m. Only accessible by 4x4 and in the dry season. The site has two sheltered areas, but no infrastructure has been built, so the site is reserved for wilderness camping. A camping fee is required.

This museum, one of the few in the region and even in the country, is a real treasure trove of precious stones. In addition to the samples of minerals extracted in the region that made its fortune, first and foremost copper, very beautiful precious and semi-precious stones are displayed here. You can learn a lot about gemology. In this museum you will find explanations on the mining industry and its history in Ndola, copper objects dating from the Stone Age, but also traditional crafts. Also worth seeing is a beautiful collection of butterflies.

This huge tree of the Afzenias species is an emblem of the city, near the center. A survivor from the colonial era, it has become a symbol of the slave trade, whose negotiations took place in the shade of its foliage in the 1880s. Indeed, Swahili slave traders, the most famous of whom were Chipembere, Mwalabu and Chiwala, came here to buy slaves. They traded prisoners captured especially during the war with the Mambundu from Angola. They were then deported to the Swahili coast of the Indian Ocean and sold to Arab slave traders who operated the human trade from the island of Zanzibar in Tanzania, then under the rule of the Sultanate of Oman. They were then sent mainly to the Arabian Peninsula, and to a lesser extent to Indian Ocean colonies (Mauritius, etc.) until the 1900s, when British-protected Zambia abolished slavery. While the British sought early to intercept slave ships bound for the Americas as early as the 1850s, it was very difficult to control the opaque trade that took place deep in the Zambian bush, which was an advantage for decades for Swahili traders based in the region. In addition, the Arabs continued to illegally ship slaves even after the British took control of Zanzibar, as it was easy to send boats by night and with little fanfare.