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Zambia Zambia Waterfall

Mumbuluma Falls

One of the waterfalls of Zambia.

When to go

Mumbuluma falls - lower falls
Isaacgerg · CC BY-SA 3.0

In numbers.

Dec–Mar

Best months

1,190m

Elevation

The water at Mumbuluma Falls, month by month

It roars from December to February.

The fullest months: from December to February. The thinnest: from May to October.

  1. 100%Jan
  2. 87%Feb
  3. 68%Mar
  4. 32%Apr
  5. 9%May
  6. 1%Jun
  7. 0%Jul
  8. 0%Aug
  9. 0%Sep
  10. 1%Oct
  11. 27%Nov
  12. 84%Dec
high water best months to go

Best months to go, with plenty of water and pleasant days: from December to March.

Estimate from rain, snowmelt and evaporation month by month (NASA POWER, 1991–2020) around the falls. Dams upstream can change the real flow.

Waterfall in Luapula, Zambia

Mumbuluma Falls is a waterfall in Zambia.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

Plan your visit

Stay, explore and get there

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Seen from the sky.

8 × 8 km of cloud-free satellite image, with what OpenStreetMap knows around the falls.

Mumbuluma Falls seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 2 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 8 × 8 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

The Lwamfumu through the falls
1,160 m1,180 m1,200 mMumbuluma Falls-1.5 km-1 km-0.5 km0+0.5 km+1 km+1.5 km← upstreamdownstream →

The line follows the river as mapped in OpenStreetMap; heights from the 30 m Copernicus model, which smooths narrow drops — the published height of the falls is the one above.

The valley below the falls
−690 m+690 m

Around the falls the river drops 46 m in 3.6 km. Here the river runs about 19 m below the lower rim of its valley.

What is around.

  • —viewpoints
  • —waymarked walking routes
  • —car parks
  • —swimming spots
  • —picnic sites
  • —toilets
  • —information boards and visitor centres
  • —bus stops within 1 km
  • —other named waterfalls within 4 km
  • —caves
  • —campsites
  • —hotels, B&Bs and huts within 6 km
  • —restaurants and cafés within 3 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, up to 2 km around the falls (unless noted). A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Weather

The weather, month by month.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon °C262626262625262932343126
Night °C181817161311101316191918
Rain & snow (mm)228178155494101123132260
Wet days29242691000041728
Sun h/day5.46.06.68.29.810.210.19.89.28.36.95.6

Long-term averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, with temperatures carried to the height of the falls (1,190 m) at −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Not a forecast.

Photos

Through visitors' eyes.

Mumbuluma falls - entrance sign
Isaacgerg · CC BY 3.0

Recent years

Wet years and dry years

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A wet season above 100 % usually means a fuller waterfall.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202079%184%167%34%—————58%193%146%
2021118%126%135%23%—————83%136%101%
2022213%131%139%119%—————11%137%124%
2023129%102%241%91%—————122%121%118%
2024200%87%100%155%—————164%51%58%
202570%116%56%127%—————28%91%86%

130% wetter than usual 70% drier than usual

Compare with the waterfalls nearby.

Mumbuluma Falls

Zambia

  • —Height
  • —Average flow
  • Dec–MarBest months

Musonda Falls

Zambia

  • —Height
  • 46 m³/sAverage flow
  • Jan–AprBest months

See the guide

Mambilima Falls

DR Congo

  • —Height
  • —Average flow
  • Dec–MarBest months

See the guide

Lofoi Falls

DR Congo

  • 384 mHeight
  • 7.7 m³/sAverage flow
  • Dec–MarBest months

See the guide

About these numbers

Names, height, width, riverWikidata (Q2918962) · CC0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Relief, river profile, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Paths, viewpoints, parking© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.