Boyoma Falls

Boyoma Falls, formerly known as Stanley Falls, consists of seven cataracts, each no more than 15' high, extending over more than 100 km (62 mi) along a curve of the Lualaba River between the river port towns of Ubundu and Kisangani/Boyoma in the Orientale region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

At the bottom of the rapids, the Lualaba becomes the Congo River. The seven cataracts have a total drop of 61 meters (200 feet). The two major cataracts are the first below Ubundu, forming a narrow and crooked stream that is hardly accessible, and the last that can easily be seen and also be visited from Kisangani.

A 1000mm portage railway bypasses the series of rapids, connecting Kisangani and Ubundu.

Especially among french speakers the cataracts are also known as Wagenia Falls (chûtes Wagenia), referring to the local people of fishermen named Wagenia or Wagenya who have developed a special technique to fish in the river. They build systems of wooden tripods across the rapids fixed in holes carved in the rock by the water current. They serve as anchors for baskets that entrap large fish.