Zimpapers Logo

Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Reporter
LUMENE Falls is a little-known yet magnificent tourist attraction tucked away in Umzingwane District and visitors to this scenic place will be treated to a spectacular scenery as the sun is enveloped by two adjoined mountains as it steadily recedes into the horizon, creating a golden glow.

Zimbabwe is indisputably endowed with many natural and man-made resources that continue to attract hordes of both local and international tourists.

Tourist attractions that quickly come to mind are the Mighty Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River, Matobo Hills, Khami Ruins, the Eastern Highlands and Great Zimbabwe among others. When it comes to a waterfall as a tourist attraction, most people think of Victoria Falls or Nyachowa Falls in Vumba, Manicaland.

There is, however, little-known Lumene Falls.

The tourist attraction in Bezha Village in Umzingwane District is a beautiful cascading waterfall that comes from an underground spring.
Visitors to the falls include mountain bikers, students on education tours, backpackers and cultural tourists but there has been a decline in numbers due to the outbreak of Covid-19.

Situated in beautiful mountains and forests, Lumene Falls is a charming natural wonder with many rock outcrops featuring boulders of all shapes and sizes.

It is strategically located close to Bulawayo, and as one drives down along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road, they branch off at Mtshabezi Dam.

The dusty road leading to Lumene Falls is about 20km along the Mawabeni-Mtshabezi Road. Due to the incessant heavy rains recorded throughout the country, the road is in a bad state and difficult to negotiate. The 2km pathway to the site is a rough terrain, which is only suitable for off-road vehicles.

Lumene Falls is located within the geographical confines of Mtshabezi Dam, a fisherman’s paradise.

Locals have turned the place into a community-based tourism destination where tourists pay a minimal entry fee of US$2 per person.
When Chronicle visited Lumene Falls on Thursday some tourists were leaving the area.

Among those who visited the falls on that day is a group of 25 Falcon College students.

The students visited under a Quest Africa programme as parts of efforts to support local tourism.

Falcon College headmaster Mr David John Van Wyk yesterday said the group went on mountain bike rides and cycled through Lumene Falls.

“We have our students who are at the moment exploring tourism adventure and supporting local tourism under the Quest Africa programme comprising of students from all over the world. They have been to Hwange, Matopos,” he said.

“They took some mountain bike rides through Mtshabezi and Lumene Falls. However, due to Covid-19 they have been in sort of a social bubble, which means they are not interacting with anyone else. They are in a self-contained unit as they continue to enjoy the adventure.”

Quest is an action filled gap year programme with its main campus in Zimbabwe and a second in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

“Our programmes expose young people to myriad experiences, including adventure-based challenges and a variety of practical life skills as well as personal guidance, career guidance and counselling,” said Mr Van Wyk.

“This programme enables them to develop clearer and broader perspective in terms of the important choices that they will be making as they embark on their life journeys as adults.”

Lumene Falls caretaker, Ms Simangele Sibanda said visitors to the scenic area include mountain bikers, students on education tours, backpackers and cultural tourists among other groups of holidaymakers.

“This place is a beautiful, which lacks aggressive marketing. Before the Covid-19 lockdown we used to get quite a number of visitors including foreign tourists. Although local day trippers continue to visit this place, lately, we have noticed a decline in the number of tourists,” said Ms Sibanda.

“We usually get people coming here to camp for days while others come to conduct sporting activities such as mountain biking, motorbike racing, swimming and sightseeing.”

Ms Sibanda said Lumene Falls is also a hit with cultural and religious tourists who occasionally visit the place for various rites.

She said the revenue collected is used in various developmental community projects.

“The money realised from Lumene Falls goes towards community projects and we have a committee that handles the money. Some of the money is used to buy dip chemicals, refurbishing local schools and the clinic among other key projects,” she said.

While launching the Visit Zimbabwe Promotion Campaign in October last year, President Mnangagwa said tourism is one of the major pillars underpinning the growth of the country’s economy and attainment of Vision 2030.

The initiative came against the backdrop of the launch of the National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy that seeks to create a US$5 billion tourism sector by 2025.

The National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), which the President again launched last year, also identifies tourism as a critical piece of the puzzle in the attainment of Vision 2030. — @mashnets.