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 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 ...

, the capital city of 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 ...

. They are about high. During the colonial era,

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

s who settled on 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 ...

in June 1893 at Kimbangu, in what is now

Masina Masina may refer to: ;Places * Masina, Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Masina, alternate name of Tabas-e Masina, in Iran * Masina, Lumbini, in Nepal * Masina, Rapti, in Nepal * Masina, Purulia, West Bengal, India * Masina Empir ...

, were the first

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

missionaries in the area. Within a month of their arrival, they moved away from the unhealthy, swampy conditions that they found there to relocate to

Kimwenza Kimwenza is a community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Mont Ngafula commune in the south of the capital, Kinshasa. Location Kimwenza is on a plateau above the main city of Kinshasa. It is near to the Petites Chutes de la Lukaya. ...

, near the Petites Chutes de la Lukaya. The low

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

s empty into a small lake with a sandy beach. They are an attraction to tourists who come to swim, or eat at the nearby restaurant. The

Lola ya Bonobo Founded by Claudine André in 1994, Lola ya Bonobo is the world's only sanctuary for orphaned bonobos. Since 2002, the sanctuary has been located just south of the suburb of Kimwenza at the Petites Chutes de la Lukaya, Kinshasa, in the Dem ...

sanctuary for endangered

bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the comm ...

s, which is adjacent to the falls, is also of interest to tourists. The sanctuary was founded by Claudine André of the NGO ''The Friends of Bonobos in Congo'', in 1994, and has been located at the Petites Chutes de la Lukaya since 2002.

References

{{reflist Waterfalls of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Tourist attractions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa