Kalambo Falls

I’m on vacation in Mpulungu, a town on the coast of Lake Tanganyika which has the distinction of being Zambia’s only port. Yesterday we took a day trip to hike to Kalambo Falls on the border between Zambia and Tanzania. Depending on who you ask, Kalambo Falls are the second highest, highest, or one of the highest waterfalls in Africa with a 772-foot single drop to the river below.

There are two ways to reach Kalambo Falls. The first is to embark on a strenuous, two-hour hike along a trail that climbs straight up a sheer cliff (I’m exaggerating, but only slightly), then up and over a mountain ridge, then down the other side. The second is to take a $100 taxi ride right up to the edge of the falls. We, being cost-conscious Peace Corps volunteers, chose the hike and lived to regret it.