A Waterfall That Falls Into the Sea
At Lobé, in Cameroon, a river ends its journey by cascading straight onto an Atlantic beach.
Very few rivers end with a waterfall onto a beach. The Lobé, south of Kribi in Cameroon, is one of them. Its falls are low and broad, and fishermen's pirogues wait in the pool beneath to take visitors upriver into the forest.
Where river meets ocean
The Lobé River drains the coastal rainforest of southern Cameroon. Just south of the resort town of Kribi, it reaches the coast and spills over a series of granite ledges, about 20 metres in all, straight onto the beach and into the Atlantic. At high tide the sea reaches the foot of the falls; at low tide you can walk across the sand to the edge of the spray. Very few waterfalls anywhere in the world end in the ocean, and this one is easy to reach.
What to do at Lobé
Fishermen's pirogues wait in the pool below the falls. A short trip takes you out onto the water for the best view of the cascades, and longer trips go upriver into the forest, where Bagyeli communities live. Back on the beach, stalls grill fish and prawns caught that morning. The light is best in the late afternoon, when the sun comes in low from the sea.
Kribi and the coast
Kribi is one of Cameroon's main beach towns, with long sandy beaches, seafood restaurants and guesthouses. South of the town, Campo Ma'an National Park protects coastal rainforest where forest elephants, gorillas and chimpanzees live, though they are shy and sightings take time and luck. Nesting sea turtles use beaches along this coast in season.
When to go and how to get there
The falls run strongest from about July to October. The drier months, from November to February, are more comfortable for the beach. Kribi is about three hours by road from Douala's international airport. A visa is required in advance for most visitors to Cameroon, along with a yellow fever certificate. See our Lobé Falls guide and the Cameroon page for more.
Other waterfalls that reach the ocean
Waterfalls that drop straight onto a beach or into the sea are rare worldwide. The Lobé Falls are the best-known example in Africa. Elsewhere, similar falls are found on islands and coasts with high rainfall and steep shores, which makes the Lobé, on a flat, sandy coastline, all the more unusual.
