Ngonye Falls, Waterfall on the Zambezi in Western Province, Zambia

Ngonye Falls is a waterfall on the Zambezi River where the water drops across a broad series of rocky ledges and creates multiple cascades. The river spreads wide at this point, with numerous rock islands dividing the flow and producing a complex water formation rather than a single drop.

The falls developed over thousands of years as the Zambezi River eroded through sandstone rock, gradually carving deeper into the riverbed. This slow geological process created the stepped formation of cascades visible today.

The falls lie in the southern part of Barotseland, the territory of the Lozi people, and the river above them is known as the Sioma, the name the falls also carry. The nearby town of Sioma has an airstrip, and the Ngonye Falls Community Partnership Park at the falls is run with local involvement.

Reaching the falls requires several days of travel from major towns due to the remote location and limited road infrastructure. It is best to visit during the dry season when water levels are more stable and access routes are more passable.

The falls are not on the Namibia border: they lie in Zambia's Western Province, about 250 km upstream of Victoria Falls, near Sioma in Barotseland. A lesser-known feature is that water also runs beneath the basalt rocks, which are full of caverns; standing on them, visitors hear the river thundering below.