Right in the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe sits the Zambezi River the Victoria Falls are situated, the locals call it “Mosi-oa-Tunya”, that means “The Smoke that Thunders”. It is one of the largest waterfalls in the world with a width of 1,708 mts. It spans about a mile, the entire width of the Zambezi River, and drops a distance about twice the height of Niagara into a narrow gorge in one seemingly continuous sheet, forcing mist to rise high into the sky.
Since it is shared by both countries, you can watch all its majesty from any of them.
Best time to visit
The best time is between February and May, after the summer rains and when the waterfalls are at high point. The temperatures between those months can go between 20°C to 30°C. Though it can be a humid and pretty hot season this is when you will get the most spectacular views of the waterfalls, but be careful, you may get a little wet!
How to get there
Since it is on the border of both countries, you can access either way by any of their national park entrances. Going through Zimbabwe via the town of Victoria Falls or entering by Livingstone in Zambia.
You can visit both sides of the Falls in one day and get different experiences from each. Zambia’s side offers more the feeling of the Falls, you will feel the spray and very probably will get wet. While the Zimbabwe side offers the picturesque views, because it is on a different distance you can see other perspective of the falls.
If you are planning to do both sides of the Falls, make sure you have visa for both countries, you can obtain it separately or you can apply for a KAZA visa that allows you to transit between Zambia and Zimbabwe for 30 days and a single entry to Botswana.
Other things to do
The activities you can do here are plenty, but it will depend of which side of the Falls you are at and also the time of the year you went.
Swimming into the Devil’s Pool is probably one of the main attractions and can only experience from the Zambia side and during the dry season, that goes from mid-August to mid-January. You will get a ride on a boat through the Zambezi to Livingstone Island, once there you have to swim over in a natural pool at the edge of the falls.
You can also enjoy something more relaxing such as Sunset Boat Cruise in the Zambezi River where you will see the classic hippos, a great amount of birds, vervet monkeys, baboons, water monitors, crocodiles and hopefully more.
There is also the option to do white-water rafting, known as the wildest white-water rafting in the world, so you definitely don’t want to missed this huge adrenaline experience. This is something to try during dry season, specially between August and September; during high-water season this activity is closed.
And a must is the Victoria Falls Bridge, that connects both countries and gives access to vehicles and trains. Constructed from still, this bridge is 198 meters long and has a height of 128 meters above the lowest mark of the river down to it. Here you can also enjoy an amazing, different and complete view of the Victoria Falls.
AdminPUBLISHED ON 05 Nov 2021
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