Victoria Falls, Mosi-oa-Tunya, “the smoke that thunders,” is the largest sheet of falling water on Earth. The Zambezi River, here the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, drops 108 metres into a narrow gorge along a front 1,708 metres wide. In flood season the spray rises more than 400 metres and can be seen from up to 50 km away.

Victoria Falls and the deep gorge below the Zambezi River

Victoria Falls: size, names and history

The Lozi name Mosi-oa-Tunya is usually translated as “the smoke that thunders,” and you understand it the moment you hear the roar and see the column of spray above the bush. The Scottish missionary David Livingstone, the first recorded European to see the falls, viewed them on 16 November 1855 from the island that now bears his name, and named them after Queen Victoria.

UNESCO inscribed Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls as a World Heritage Site in 1989. Below the falls the river zigzags through a chain of gorges: the First Gorge that receives the water, the Second Gorge spanned by the Victoria Falls Bridge, then the Third, Fourth, Fifth and Songwe Gorges. The constant spray feeds a small rainforest on the opposite cliff, with pod mahogany, ebony, ivory palm and wild date palm, plants that are rare in the surrounding dry country.

Visitors raising their arms in Devil’s Pool beside the waterfall

Best time to visit: high water vs low water

The Zambezi’s flow changes enormously through the year, and so does the experience.

  • High water (February to May, peaking in April): a thundering, full curtain of water and spray so dense that some viewpoints vanish in mist. Bring a raincoat or expect to be soaked.
  • Low water (September to January): flow falls to about a tenth of the April peak by November, and up to half the rock face can run dry. The views of the gorge are clearer, and this is the season for Devil’s Pool.

Average flow over the year is about 1,088 cubic metres per second.

A guided visit to Devil’s Pool at the edge of Victoria Falls
A guided visit to Devil’s Pool on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls.

Devil’s Pool and Livingstone Island

Devil’s Pool is a natural rock pool on the very lip of the falls, at the western tip of Livingstone Island on the Zambian side. When the river is low enough, visitors can swim to within reach of the edge of the 108-metre drop.

Visits are run only by Livingstone Island (operated by Green Safaris), a 10-minute boat ride from the Zambian bank. Devil’s Pool usually opens from late August to late December, depending on water levels. From January to late August, when the river is high, the same tours swim instead in Angel’s Pool or the Rock Pool. Sessions are limited to 32 guests and include options such as a sunrise trip, island lunch or high tea. Swim only with the island’s guides, who decide each day where it is safe to enter the water.

Water plunging over Victoria Falls beneath a blue sky

Zambia or Zimbabwe: choosing your side

Zimbabwe side: the town of Victoria Falls is the main tourist hub, with walking paths along the rim of the gorge facing the falls.

Zambia side: the town of Livingstone sits near Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. This is the side for Livingstone Island and Devil’s Pool.

The Victoria Falls Bridge links the two countries over the Second Gorge, and many visitors see both sides in one trip. Check visa rules for your nationality before crossing.

Aerial view of Victoria Falls, its gorge and rising spray

Video: Victoria Falls and the Zambezi

For another Southern African landscape best seen from several angles, read our Blyde River Canyon guide. If natural pools appeal, To Sua Ocean Trench in Samoa is a very different place to swim.

Sources