Ndola

Street scene in Ndola

Ndola is a large city in the Copperbelt of northern Zambia, 10 km from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. With a population in 2023 of 587,716, Ndola is all about mining. It powered the Zambian economy until the 1970s, then the price of copper crashed while oil prices soared, and Zambia sank under huge debts. The city has diversified into limestone, and from 2005 the price of copper recovered, but with little visible benefit to Ndola.

Understand

The crackings and creakings of plate tectonics brought a rich vein of minerals, principally copper, to lie beneath northern Zambia, with the Katanga finger of the Democratic Republic of Congo extending south to share in this. This was loot for the colonial powers, exploiting dirt-cheap local labour in hazardous conditions for a valuable material whose profits were enjoyed far away - by Belgium for what is now the DRC, and by Britain for Northern Rhodesia which is now Zambia. Independence meant that a local clique clawed the profits away from multi-national companies, but with small benefit to the country at large or to those who sweated in the mines. And to the extent that those countries did benefit, there was resentment at sharing the profits, so separatist movements sprang up using much the same rhetoric that they'd chanted against the colonists.

In Zambia Kenneth Kaunda kept a lid on things, but the Congo conflict spiralled into civil war, with Katanga declaring independence and armed conflict in the Congo engulfing even UN non-combatant peacekeepers. On 18 Sept 1961 Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, flew in to resolve the conflict. His aircraft crashed on approach to Ndola and all on board were killed. The circumstances of this have been pored over as closely as those around the death of JF Kennedy, with multiple conspiracy theories. The key point is that he was inbound, with everything still to play for in the peace talks; so this favours pilot fatigue and simple navigational error.

Talk

English & Lamba is spoken in Ndola.

Get in

By plane

• 1 Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport (NLA  ^IATA) (located about fifteen kilometres from downtown.). The new Ndola International airport was opened in 2021. As the largest town in the copperbelt and an important economic hub, Ndola is well served by both domestic and international flights. Air Tanzania fly to/from Dar Es Salaam, Flights from Addis Ababa by Ethiopian Airlines, from Johannesburg by Airlink as well as flights from Nairobi by Kenya Airways. Domestic flights from Lusaka and other cities in Zambia are mostly run by Proflight Zambia and the New Zambia Airways. Proflight also fly to Johannesburg.  

By bus or car

Ndola is about a 4- to 5-hour drive from Lusaka on a well paved road. Many buses run from Lusaka to Ndola. The most reliable are Power tools Logistics, Juldan Motors, UBZ, which runs lots of buses every day. The bus ride to Kitwe, 58 km away, takes 45 minutes. A bus from Kapiri Mposhi, 121 km away, takes 3 hours.

By train

Operated by Zambia Railways, the once-weekly Zambezi train runs from Livingstone (22 hours) via Lusaka (12 hours). 2 Ndola railway station is located norteast of downtown.

See

• 1 Dag Hammarskjöld Crash Site Memorial (10km southwest of Ndola, along highway to Kitwe). Site of the plane crash that killed former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld in 1961. There's a garden and a small museum dedicated to his life and the role of the UN. 
• 2 Copperbelt Museum, Buteko Ave, downtown, ☏ +260 976568144. M-F 08:00-17:00, Sa 12:00-17:00, closed Su. Exhibits on local mining industry, bird species, and ethnography. (For Non Zambian Residents not worth it). Residents K10.00=0.50c. Non Residents USD5=K100. (updated Aug 2023)

Do

• Nsobe Game Camp, ☏ +260 212 671 008, +260 212 671 097. 

Buy

• Standard Chartered Bank, Ndola square mall. Has a Visa and MasterCard ATM. (updated Aug 2023)
• Stanbic bank. Has a Visa and MasterCard ATM. (updated May 2023)
• Jacaranda Mall, T 3 highway. 7am-22.00. Has a Pick N pay supermarket and many more stores and fastfood chains. (updated Jun 2023)
• Kafabu Shopping mall, President Aveune. 8am-22.00. Large Shoprite supermarket, fastfood' chains, phone shops. (updated Aug 2023)
• Ecobank, broadway (Ground floor workers Compensation control board Building). 24 hours atm.. Has a Mastercard, Visa card, ATM. no fee. (updated Jun 2023)
• FNB, President avenue. 24 hours atm.. Has a Mastercard, Visa card, ATM. no fee. (updated Jun 2023)
• Ndola Square Mall, T3 highway (city center.). 6am-19.00. Has a larger Choppies supermarket and other stores. (updated Aug 2023)

Eat

Slaves were once sold under this tree, but it's now repurposed as a memorial to the victims of the slave trade.

• Bei Tempi. Pizza and pasta 
• Michelangelo's, 126 Broadway Rd. Wash the food down with a cold beer or some matured wine. 
• Deja Vu. Uptown modern restaurant offering a wide variety of succulent cuisines. 
• Vanilla Bread, 126 Broadway Rd. Coffeeshop next door to Michaelangelo's (run by the same owners). 

Drink

• Bo'Jangles pub and pizzeria. (updated Mar 2017)

Sleep

Budget under K500

• New Ambassador Hotel, President avenue (near Plaza cinema), ☏ +260 212-617071, +260-212617134. It has 30 rooms. twin/double/semi suite/family room. free breakfast. cash only. twin room with shared bathroom from K280. (updated Aug 2023)
• Ukadzi Guest House, 5866 Lisiwashi road (off airport cargo road). Check-in: noon, check-out: 11AM. Fan double room with own bathroom from K250. (updated Feb 2022)
• Blessing Guest House, Kanomgesha Road (near Kafubu shopping mall), ☏ +260 212 621 501. Check-in: 11am, check-out: 10AM. single/double/. with self contained and non self contanined bathroom. free wifi, bar, 24/7 security staff. no free breakfast. from K310-350. (updated Aug 2023)
• Wilrose Guesthouse, Masala Road. Check-in: 24 hours, check-out: 11am. single/double rooms with own bathroom. from K250. (updated Aug 2023)
• Little Eden Lodge, Chipulukusu Raod. single/double room with own bathroom. from K350. (updated Aug 2023)
• Zholele Lodge, Bukafu Aveune. single/double rooms with own bathroom. from K350. (updated Aug 2023)

Go next

Lusaka or a day trip to Kitwe