Lake Kashiba, is the most known of several small, but immensely deep lakes in Mpongwe District of the Copperbelt Province, Zambia called; 'The Sunken Lakes'. The measly distributed lakes were created as a result of a reaction between water and rock. Having the water dissolve the rock to form caves, which eventually collapsed and left deep holes filled with water.
The formed lakes are surrounded by limestone, and amongst them is the Kashiba, which means small lake — it is the most alluring. It is about 3.5 hectares (8.6 acres) in area and 100 metres (330 ft) deep. The water level amounts to 10 metres (33 ft) below the surrounding forest, and through the clear blue water, beautiful fish are easy to see. Most of which are Bream and Sardine. There are lots of birds, lizard, snakes and other animal life in the area for those who like to animal-watch.
The beautiful site comes with its own myths, local legend has it that fish from Kashiba is not meant to be consumed. "No matter how long you leave the fish on the fire, even all day and all night, it will not cook." They say.
Kashiba is also said to habour a monster called 'Ichitapa' or 'lsoka lkulu' — big snake. When a man stands on the rocks at the lake’s edge, with his shadow over the water, the monster comes up from the depths and catches his shadow, so that the victim becomes paralysed and falls into the water.
The sides of the lakes are sheer, well suited for swimming and diving. Tourists can safely jump or dive in from the surrounding rocks. Quite interestingly, there is an open challenge for scuba divers to find the true depth of the lake, with the best guess so far being 90 metres at the shallowest end and the rest claiming it is bottomless.
Access is via a dirt road of about 15km length from St Anthony's Mission, for preference, a large-wheeled 4X4 is ideal since the road is not smooth. Despite the effort required to get there, the site should be on the top of your bucket list as it is a must see. Exploring Zambia made easier with Try Zambia.
The formed lakes are surrounded by limestone, and amongst them is the Kashiba, which means small lake — it is the most alluring. It is about 3.5 hectares (8.6 acres) in area and 100 metres (330 ft) deep. The water level amounts to 10 metres (33 ft) below the surrounding forest, and through the clear blue water, beautiful fish are easy to see. Most of which are Bream and Sardine. There are lots of birds, lizard, snakes and other animal life in the area for those who like to animal-watch.
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The beautiful site comes with its own myths, local legend has it that fish from Kashiba is not meant to be consumed. "No matter how long you leave the fish on the fire, even all day and all night, it will not cook." They say.
Kashiba is also said to habour a monster called 'Ichitapa' or 'lsoka lkulu' — big snake. When a man stands on the rocks at the lake’s edge, with his shadow over the water, the monster comes up from the depths and catches his shadow, so that the victim becomes paralysed and falls into the water.
| SPONSORED |
The sides of the lakes are sheer, well suited for swimming and diving. Tourists can safely jump or dive in from the surrounding rocks. Quite interestingly, there is an open challenge for scuba divers to find the true depth of the lake, with the best guess so far being 90 metres at the shallowest end and the rest claiming it is bottomless.
Access is via a dirt road of about 15km length from St Anthony's Mission, for preference, a large-wheeled 4X4 is ideal since the road is not smooth. Despite the effort required to get there, the site should be on the top of your bucket list as it is a must see. Exploring Zambia made easier with Try Zambia.
| SPONSORED |
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