Lofoi Falls

The Lofoi river runs off the edge of the Kundelungu plateau in a single unbroken fall usually given as around three hundred and forty metres, which would make it among the highest single drops in Africa; the figure comes from older surveys and has not been independently remeasured. The fall is seasonal: it is at its strongest at the end of the rains and can reduce to very little by the middle of the dry season. The setting is escarpment and gorge, with the plateau grassland above and the Lufira valley below.

The landscape

• The single drop - an unbroken fall of well over three hundred metres off the escarpment.
• The escarpment - the plateau edge, with the fall dropping straight off it into the gorge.
• The gorge - forested and steep-sided, running out towards the Lufira.
• The plateau above - open grassland right up to the lip of the drop.

When to go

March to June, at the end of the rains and the start of the dry season, is when the fall carries water and the tracks are becoming passable. By August and September it can be reduced to a trickle. The wet season makes access impossible.

Good to know

The height figure is old and repeated rather than verified, so treat it as approximate. Access requires a four-wheel drive, a park guide and time, and the viewpoint is rough ground with no facilities. Visiting in the wrong month means seeing almost no water.

Nearby

Kundelungu National Park surrounds the falls, and Lubumbashi is several hours south.

Key facts