Ndola – The Friendly City

Ndola is the city at the center of economic development in Zambia. It is located at the junction of roads leading to several cities and towns on the Copperbelt and beyond. One is able to easily cross over into the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.) to the north and Angola to the west. The D.R.C. is just 10 kilometers away from the town. The town is about 320 kilometers north of Lusaka.

The name of the city is derived from a tributary of the Kafubu River known as kandola.

Ndola started as a BOMA , (British Overseas Management Area) and a trading post during the colonial era. It was founded in 1904 by John Edward “Chiripula” Stephenson, just six months after Livingstone, making it the second oldest colonial era town of Zambia. With a population of 374,757 (2000 census), it is the third largest city in Zambia after Lusaka and Kitwe. It is the commercial and industrial center of the Copperbelt.

The town is unique

It is the capital of the richest province in the country. It is home to a lot of industries that drive the Zambian economy today. Name it, Food processing, manufacturing, copper mining and refining, bottling, finance and banking, motor assembly, cement manufacturing, oil refining and many more.

Because of its huge industrial base, the country’s premier trade show is held here. The Zambia International Trade Fair takes place annually in Ndola during the first week of July. Exhibitors come from all over the world and from within the country.

Ndola is serviced by regular flights from Lusaka and neighboring countries. The railway systems of Zambia runs passenger and freight services between Kitwe and Livingstone. The railway line goes all the way to Lubumbashi in Congo. The road network can take you any where in Zambia.

Climate

The weather is generally from cool to warm, conducive for out door and sporting activities at any of the sports facilities dotted around the city. It experiences high levels of rainfall due to its proximity to the rain forests of Congo D.R.

Where to stay

Located in the heart of the city is perhaps the city’s best known hotel, the Savoy hotel. Conveniently located within the business district, it offers comfortable rooms and quality service. Off the hassle and bustle of the city is the Mukuba hotel. Its proximity to the trade fair grounds makes it an ideal place for both show goers and exhibitors. It is located in the show grounds in the main industrial area. You can relax as you enjoy the view of impalas grazing in the background.

Other budget accommodations are the Chikumbi Motel and Naaznina.

It is the only city on the Copperbelt which does not depend on copper only for its survival. This cannot be said of its neighbor towns like Kitwe or Luanshya. This is not to say Ndola has no mining activities. Bwana Mkubwa mine, only 10 kilometers south-east of the city center, on the outskirts of Ndola, is one of Zambia’s oldest mines, and is still in operation. Although it stayed dormant for some time, First Quantaum came in, revamped it and its now operational.

Places to visit

Here, you find a lot of fascinating places worth visiting. If you would like some experience of the wild near by, try the monkey fountain zoo. As the name suggests, some monkeys are kept at this zoo.

This is the city where the Swedish diplomat, Dag Hammarskjöld, secretary general of the United Nations, crushed during a peace mission to Zaire (now called Congo D.R). A memorial has been erected for him along the Ndola-Kitwe dual carriage way.

Just near the city center is the slave tree, or Mukuyu Slave tree around which Arab slave traders held slave markets in the nineteenth century. There is also Lake Chilengwa. The Lake, which is 14 km east of Ndola was formed by the collapse of rock into an underlying limestone carven, and has local cultural significance.

Other existing tourist attractions are the Copperbelt Museum, the Polish World War II memorial site located at about 6 kilometers from Bwana Mkumbwa Mine and the Chichele Mufu Tree.

The Polish memorial site is where about 18,000 polish refugees found asylum after fleeing from the Nazi forces in 1943.

The Mofu tree is over 200 years old. It was declared a national monument on 21st March 1976. It symbolizes the need to conserve trees.

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