You’ll find the town of Siavonga perched on the edge of Lake Kariba’s northeastern shores. This is an idyllic location in the Zambezi valley, the vast expanse of the lake on one side and green hills on the other. The town was born in the 1950s as a camp for the builders working on the dam, but in the 1960s, after the dam’s completion, it became a conference and holiday venue for affluent Zambians and international travellers.

Siavonga is Zambia’s main tourism town on the lake and offers accommodation in many lodges along the shore, as well as in houseboats. Camping is limited but good facilities can be found at Eagle’s Rest. Activities such as boating and fishing tours are offered by local operators, or you can take a walk over the dam wall.

Technically Lake Kariba is a dam as it’s an artificially constructed body of water. And as such, it’s the largest of its kind in the world. Some 282 km long, Lake Kariba can store up to 180 billion tonnes of water. The dam wall is 128 metres high and 617 metres long, and spans the Kariba Gorge. At the time of writing the dam wall was the focus of restoration work as it’s not in good shape. The consequences of a dam wall collapse don’t bear thinking about!

ACCOMMODATION:
Accommodation is available in several lodges and campsites in the area.

HEALTHCARE & EMERGENCY SERVICES:
Tow-in services: Try +27(0)97 473 7848 / +260(0)96 6761647 (Based in Lusaka).

NOTE: Visitors to Zambia are advised to have their own personal travel insurance. Local police, hospitals, clinics etc. cannot be relied upon.
Please note that any emergency numbers indicated on our data will be for the local police, hospital, clinic etc. and most of the times, don't work. Many tourism sites show the numbers like 999 for police, they often don’t work.

If you have a medical problem when in Zambia, Specialty Emergency Services has a Call Centre (24 hours). Phone them on 737. This company has offices in Livingstone, Lusaka and Kitwe. But they will fly anywhere to assist if visitors have the right insurance. If you want to check your insurance, contact SES on [email protected]. (http://ses-zambia.com/). (2019).

CLIMATE:
Rainy season is from October to March, and the climate is hot and humid. The dry season is from April to September, with cooler daytime temperatures and cool to occasional cold overnight lows.

TYRE SALES/REPAIRS:
At the petrol station.

SHOPS & SERVICES:
Fresh produce can be purchased at the Siavonga traditional market. There is a fuel station, bank, restaurants and some shops to restock on supplies.
There is no formal liquor shop, but one can buy beer basically anywhere

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