As you walk up to Victoria Falls’ tourist viewing area, the panoramic view of the world’s largest water curtain is breathtaking.

Referred to by the locals as Mosi oa Tunya (the smoke that thunders), the 1,708 metres wide waterfall drops about 128 metres into Bakota Gorge -which runs 120 metres across- forming dense mist that covers the whole area.

In deed, the water falls with such a high velocity as to create a thick mist that rises over 150 meters.

Victoria Falls is one of the world’s natural wonders placed along the Zambezi River and it separates Zimbabwe and Zambia, but it’s best seen from the Zimbabwean side. The falls is made of five different “falls” which are: The Devil’s Cataract, Main Falls, Rainbow Falls and Horseshoe Falls all in Zimbabwe and the Eastern Cataract situated in Zambia.

The Devil’s Cataract, whose name is derived from the close by island in the Zambezi River, is about 70 metres deep. Main Falls is, on the other hand, the most spectacular of all the falls with water falling 93 metres into the gorge below. Shaped like a horse shoe, Horseshoe Falls is about 95 metres deep and it offers excellent view of Rainbows Falls. A spectacular view of the Cataract Falls can be found by descending 73 steps into the close by Eastern Cataract Falls situated on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls can be approached from either the Zambian side or Zimbabwean side, although the former is less spectacular. The best time to have full view is midway through the dry season when the water volume decreases. However, the falls are less thrilling towards the end of the dry season as the flow is at its lowest.

The Zambezi basin above the falls experiences a rainy season from late November to early April, and a dry season the rest of the year. During the month of April when rainfall is highest, Victoria Falls has over 500 million litres of water falling over its crestline each minute. The minimum flow occurs in November and it is about a tenth of the April flow.

A majority of people on South Africa safari tours prefer taking a camping safari to the Victoria Falls as part of their Southern Africa adventures. The camping safari sees visitors traversing four countries: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia.

Victoria Falls is twice in height the size of North America’s Niagra Falls and more than twice the width of Horseshoe Falls that is also located in North America. In both dimensions, Victoria Falls is second to South America’s Iguazu Falls. The falls are part of two national parks: Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls National Park and Zambia’s Zambezi National Park. Victoria Falls National Park situated along the southern banks of the Zambezi River offers the most spectacular views.

The best months for viewing the falls are July and August. This is midway through the dry season, which is also the cold season. Temperatures during this season range from 20 degrees Celsius to as low as 5 degrees Celsius at night.
Among the must do activities while at Victoria Falls include taking a guided canoeing safari on the upper Zambezi River or downstream from the falls and white water rafting through the awesome gorges of the Zambezi. Sunset cruises on the Zambezi River at Victoria falls are also a nice adventure allowing visitors close observation of hippo pods and elephants crossing the Zambezi. There exist numerous opportunities for freshwater game fishing along the banks of the river.

A walk across the Zambezi River Bridge that connects Zimbabwe with Zambia while towering over the gorges that are down river from Victoria Falls is a thrilling adventure. Zambezi River Bridge was the brain child of Cecil Rhodes, the 6th Prime minister of the Cape colony, who was for the idea of the construction of a railway line from Cape Town through the Zambezi River to Cairo, Egypt. It is 250 metres across, with the main arch spanning 156.5 metres at a height of 128 metres above the lower water mark of the river in the gorge below. The bridge was officially opened by Professor Francis Darwin, son of Charles Darwin in 1905.

Victoria Falls is a UNESCO World Heritage site and it was named after the queen of England by Scottish explorer David Livingstone in 1855. To get to the falls, visitors can travel by road, cruising about 440 km northwest from Bulawayo or through Kazungula Border Post. The Victoria Falls Border Post is just a few metres from the falls and can be accessed by road from Zambia. There is also the alternative of using Victoria Falls’ international airport that has services from Harare and many regional and international destinations. Direct flights from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls are also available.

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 5th, 2009 at 7:35 am and is filed under South Africa. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.