The Lukaya is a river in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. Its source is located in the Crystal Mountains (Montagnes de Cristal), from which it runs eastward through

Bas-Congo Kongo Central ( kg, Kongo dia Kati ), formerly Bas-Congo is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Matadi. History At the time of independence, the area now encompassing Kongo Central was part of the g ...

, then runs into the banks of the

Ndjili River The Ndjili River is a river that flows from the south through the capital city of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it joins the Congo River. It separates the districts of Tshangu and Mont Amba. The river gives its name to t ...

. The rail line from

Matadi Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Kongo Central province, adjacent to the border with Angola. It had a population of 245,862 (2004). Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River, ...

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

runs along the river valley for a time, passing to the south and then to the east of Kinshasa. At one point the river was the namesake of a district in the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

. Just to the south of Kinshasa, a small cascade on the river, the

Petites Chutes de la Lukaya The Petites Chutes de la Lukaya ( French; "Small falls of the Lukaya River") is a set of small waterfalls on the Lukaya River. They are just south of Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are about high. Duri ...

, is a gathering place for several tourist activities including the lake formed by the river valley, beaches and waterfalls, and the Lola Ya Bonobo Sanctuary of Kinshasa. This is located in the Mont Ngafula neighborhood, which the river runs through.

References

Rivers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo {{DRCongo-river-stub