Lake Kariba

About Destination

Lake Kariba is the largest man-made Lake in the world, in volume. It is 1200 km from the Indian Ocean and is the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe in southeast Africa. the Dam was built as an electricity source for Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe. Its underwater electrical stations produce 1200 megawatts of power every day to both countries. It measures 280 km long, 32 km wide, and has an area surface of 5500 square meters. The lake is also an important commercial fishing spot.

Fishing is done by creating light on the surface of the water at night, where the fish would come up to the surface and fisherman would scoop up large square nets of sardine-like fish. But due to overfishing, the fish have depleted considerably, but you will still find some lights at night on the lake.

Fishing was always in the plan when building the Dam but what was not planned was the destruction of the valley the dam was built in. Unfortunately, when the Dam was being built over flooding caused much of the Woodland area to be flooded. Today scuba divers tell of an underwater Forest with large trees with leaves & twigs still in tack, frozen in time. A trip down memory lane to see the remainder of the Valley now covered by the lake. The town of Kariba came to be when the construction of the dam began and many villages were built to house the native people displaced by the rising waters of the dam.

The shores of the dam are covered in grasslands and are influenced by the water levels, me aning that the flora that flourishes here, perish when the waters rise in the rainy season and flourish again in the dry season. The dam is full of fish species, due to the decomposed forest underneath the water, the water is rich in nutrients. Hippopotamuses and Nile crocodiles love these rich waters and are found here often. Both Zambia and Zimbabwe for now promoting tourism along the coast of the Lake.

The biggest tourist attraction to the Kariba Dam is of course fishing. Other activities around the dam include hiking, visiting the dam museum in memory of the lives lost in the building of the dam. And you can visit the local market Curios and purchase handmade jewelry, furniture, clothes and taste the local street food. You can also canoe on the lake or take a boat trip and have sundowners. And lastly also scuba dive to see the hidden forest.

The locals like to barbecue or braai fish as fish are abundant, the fish is always served with locally brewed beer.

Accommodation in Lake Kariba varies in price but has many hotels and self-catering options available to suit any budget.

The country’s currency is Zimbabwe Dollar and is equivalent to R0.04 or $0.01

The cuisine in Zimbabwe is very diverse the locals enjoy maize meal and meat stew, wild mushroom soup, and Wawha which is a traditional maize beer. But you can find game meat and traditional farm styles meals at local restaurants.

Come enjoy a spot of fishing at Lake Kariba