Near the town of Mwinilunga in north western Zambia is a famous hill. It’s called Kaleni Hills made popular by the early missionaries who settled there. It’s near this hill, albeit some 48 odd kilometers away, that the Zambezi derives its water. This source is a spring with unimpressive start. But that’s how big things start. Small!
The tiny spring bubbles between roots of a small tree. The older tree has now fallen down replaced by a younger tree. The water from the spring does not flow away but instead it sinks again into an underground river, which outcrops 10 meters away. This second ‘spring’ also sinks down only to appear 30 meters down the slope. There the river flows on surface and becomes wider and larger as it covers more distance.

After leaving eastern Angola the river re-enters Zambia near Chavuma town. At this point it forms at Chavuma Falls. This marks the end of its upper course. From its upper course, a distance of over 800 km (500 mi), the Zambezi falls only about 180 m (600 ft).
The Zambezi River enters and meanders in the Barotse Floodplain for a distance of about 190 kms. The Barotse Floodplain is the site of the world famous Ku-omboka traditional ceremony of the Lozi people who live there. Ku-omboka means leaving the flooded plain to high ground during the height of the rainy season about February/March.
After leaving the floodplain the Zambezi pours its large volumes of water over the Ngonye Falls just outside the floodplain in a rocky countryside. For the next 100 kms (60 mi) below its confluence with the Kwando (Cuando) River, the Zambezi is a large smooth flowing channel.