View source for Petites Chutes de la Lukaya

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The '''Petites Chutes de la Lukaya''' ([[French language|French]]; "Small falls of the Lukaya") is a set of small waterfalls on the [[Lukaya River]]. They are just south of [[Kinshasa]], the capital city of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]. They are about {{convert|1|m|ft}} high.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://mavallee.lima-city.de/index.php?cat=fran%C3%A7ais&page=Dans%20la%20r%C3%A9gion
|title=Visitez d'autres sites touristiques ans la région: Petites chutes de la Lukaya
|work=Lac de Ma Vallée
|access-date=2011-11-29}}</ref>
[[Image:Petites chutes de la Lukaya.jpg|thumb|Petites chutes de la Lukaya.]]
During the colonial era, [[Jesuit]]s who settled on the [[Ndjili River]] in June 1893 at Kimbangu, in what is now [[Masina, Kinshasa|Masina]], were the first [[Catholic]] missionaries in the area.
Within a month of their arrival, they moved away from the unhealthy, [[Swamp|swampy]] conditions that they found there to relocate to [[Kimwenza]], near the Petites Chutes de la Lukaya.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kosubaawate.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html
|title=Kinshasa Then and Now
|date=January 29, 2011
|first=Mwana |last=Mboka
|access-date=2011-11-28}}</ref>
The low [[waterfall]]s empty into a small lake with a sandy beach.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.kinshasa.cd/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=301
|title=Attractions
|work=Ville de Kinshasa
|access-date=2011-11-29}}</ref>
They are an attraction to tourists who come to swim, or eat at the nearby restaurant.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://kinshasa-congo.com/fr/places_to_visit/
|title=Aux alentours de Kinshasa: Chutes de La Lukaya
|work=Kinshasa-congo
|access-date=2011-11-29}}</ref>
The [[Lola ya Bonobo]] sanctuary for endangered [[bonobo]]s, which is adjacent to the falls, is also of interest to tourists.
The sanctuary was founded by [[Claudine André]] of the NGO ''The Friends of Bonobos in Congo'', in 1994, and has been located at the Petites Chutes de la Lukaya since 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.africanconservation.org/explorer/d.r.congo/517-lola-ya-bonobo/view-details.html
|title=Lola ya Bonobo
|publisher=[[African Conservation Foundation]]
|access-date=2011-11-29}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Waterfalls of the Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
[[Category:Kinshasa]]