Chilubi is a settlement on an island in Lake Bangweulu and its swamps, and is headquarters of Chilubi District

Chilubi District

Chilubi District with headquarters at Chilubi is located in Northern Province, Zambia. It covers the north-east Bangweulu Lake and Bangweulu swamps containing several islands including Chilubi Island, and some of the mainland northeast of the lake...

 in the Northern Province

Northern Province, Zambia

Northern Province is one of Zambia's nine provinces. It covers approximately one fifth of Zambia in land area. The provincial capital is Kasama. The province is made up of 12 districts, namely Kasama , Chilubi, Isoka, Chinsali, Kaputa, Luwingu, Mbala, Mporokoso, Mpika, Mpulungu, Mungwi and Nakonde...

 of Zambia

Zambia

Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

.

Chilubi Island

Chilubi Island lies just north of the centre of the eastern side of the lake. It has an unusual zig-zag shape of about five segments, each about 12 km long and 1.5 to 3 km wide. It resembles a Chinese dragon with its head (at the north-west end) just in the open lake and its body and tail (south-east end) in the swamps. The shortest distance on land from nose to tail is 25 km, and it has about 100 km of shoreline. The smaller Nsumbu Island lies 1 km south-east of Chilubi Island.

The shores of Chilubi Island are lined with villages while the interior consists of patches of wooded grassland. The soil is very sandy and infertile, so not much food is grown on the island. There are only a few vehicles or tracks but it is cross-crossed by footpaths. The main settlements on Chilubi Island are Chilubi, Muchinchi, Chiwanangala (headquarters of the chief of that name) and Santa Maria, a Catholic mission.

The island is served by passenger ferries from Samfya

Samfya

Samfya is a town located in the Zambian province of Luapula. It is the center of Samfya District. The town is located on the south-western shore of Lake Bangweulu, on the longest stretch of well-defined shore of that lake...

 and Nsombo in Luwingu District

Luwingu District

Luwingu District is a district of Zambia, located in Northern Province. The capital lies at Luwingu. As of the 2000 Zambian Census, the district had a population of 80,758 people.-References:...

 and Chaba at the north end of the lake, and there is an airstrip at the mission,

The main occupation of the island is fishing, with some employment provided by schools, a health centre, the District Council and the mission.

Chilubi town

The town or large village is situated at the most north-westerly tip of the island. Chilubi is 45 km across the lake from Samfya, 28 km from Chaba and 38 km from Nsombo. Chilubi is unique in Zambia, being the only one of the 72 district headquarters or boma

Boma

The port town of Boma in Bas-Congo province was the capital city of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo from 1 May 1886 to 1926, when it was moved to Léopoldville . It exports tropical timber, bananas, cacao, and palm products...

s on an island, with no road connections. A boma was first established during colonial times at the southern tip of the island.