Kalabo is an urban centre in

Kalabo District Kalabo District is a district of Zambia, located in Western Province. The capital lies at Kalabo Kalabo is an urban centre in Kalabo District, in the Western Province of Zambia. The town is the headquarters of the district with the same name. ...

, in the

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: * Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provin ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

. The town is the headquarters of the district with the same name.

Location

The town is located on the plains west of the

Zambezi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

and the

Barotse Floodplain The Barotse Floodplain, also known as the Bulozi Plain, Lyondo or the Zambezi Floodplain, is one of Africa's great wetlands, on the Zambezi River in the Western Province of Zambia. It is a designated Ramsar site, regarded as being of high conserv ...

, and approximately , by road east of the town of Sikongo, Zambia, close to the border with

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. This is approximately , by road, west of

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

, Zambia's capital and largest city. The geographical coordinates of Kalabo are:14°59'28.0"S, 22°40'44.0"E (Latitude:-14.991111; Longitude:22.678889). Kalabo sits at an average elevation of above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

Overview

It is situated on the bank of the

Luanginga River The Luanginga is a river rising in Angola, which flows into the Zambezi in western Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and Ea ...

across which a small pontoon ferry connects to a dirt track going north-west to the Angolan border. Kalabo is the base for the

Liuwa Plain National Park Liuwa Plain National Park is a national park in Zambia's Western Province. "Liuwa" means "plain" in the local Liuwa language, a dialect of Lozi language, and the plains originally served as a hunting ground for Lubosi Lewanika, the Litunga (ki ...

which can be reached by off-road vehicles about , north of the pontoon. Zambia's Western Province was formerly known as

Barotseland Barotseland ( Lozi: Mubuso Bulozi) is a region between Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe including half of eastern and northern provinces of Zambia and the whole of Democratic Republic of Congo's Katanga Province. It is the homeland of the ...

, and Liuwa Plain was the Barotse king's hunting grounds which

Lewanika Lewanika (1842–1916) (also known as Lubosi, Lubosi Lewanika or Lewanika I) was the Lozi Litunga (King) of Barotseland from 1878 to 1916 (with a break in 1884-5). A detailed, although biased, description of King 'Lubossi' (the spelling used) can ...

made into a game reserve in the 19th century.

Population

In 2010, the national population census and household survey enumerated the population of Kalabo Town at 2,178 people. In 2020, the town's population was estimated at 7,731 inhabitants.

Transport

Access to Kalabo by road was difficult but now after the completion of the road between Kalabo and

Mongu Mongu is the capital of Western Province in Zambia and was the capital of the formerly-named province and historic state of Barotseland. Its population is 179,585 (2010 census), and it is also the headquarters of Mongu District. History Mongu ...

, it is now easier. The section crossing the floodplain is called the

Barotse Floodplain Causeway Lozi people, or Barotse, are a southern African ethnic group who speak Lozi or Silozi, a Sotho–Tswana language. The Lozi people consist of more than 46 different ethnic groups and are primarily situated between Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zimba ...

and is counted as an extension of the Lusaka-Mongu Road. The

-Kalabo Road measures in length. The city of Mongu is the provincial capital of Zambia's

. Before the construction of the road, Kalabo was usually cut off by road in the rainy season. The dirt tracks across the floodplain from

become flooded, and frequently in poor condition at other times. The tracks go to two ferries across the main channel of the Zambezi, a northern one near Libonda accessed from Mongu via

Limulunga Limulunga is one of the two compounds of the Litunga, king of the Lozi people of western Zambia. It lies on high ground at the edge of the Barotse Floodplain of the Zambezi river, about 15 km north of the town of Mongu and 21 km east o ...

, and a southern one at Sandaula accessed via

Lealui Lealui or Lialui is the dry season residence on the Barotse Floodplain of the Litunga, king of the Lozi people of western Zambia. It is located about 14 km west of the town of Mongu and about 10 km east of the river's main channel. At ...

. In recent years dirt roads on raised earth embankments have been constructed from Mongu to Lealui and from Kalabo to Sandaula. This is part of an ambitious long-term regional plan to provide the first ever major link between the road networks of Zambia and

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

via a paved causeway across the floodplain and a bridge over the Zambezi, replacing the ferry. A paved highway would then be built from Kalabo north-west to the Angolan border and beyond. Although originally intended for completion in 2006, construction has proved more difficult than anticipated and large sections were washed away in floods in 2003/2004, resulting in funding shortfalls. Kalabo is also served by

Kalabo Airport Kalabo Airport is an airport serving the town of Kalabo, in Kalabo District and surrounding communities in the Western Province of Zambia. Location The airport is west of the town. This is approximately , by air, north-west of Lusaka Interna ...

, approximately , west of the town.

References

External links