Victoria Falls Safari

Spanning Zimbabwe and Zambia, Victoria Falls is one of Africa’s most spectacular natural sights: there’s not much to beat the biggest sheet of falling water on Earth cascading with an astounding roar down cliffs speckled with lush forest into the mighty Zambezi River more than 100 metres below. Known as Mosi-oa-Tunya – “the smoke that thunders” – Victoria Falls is so forceful that the spray sent up by the plunging water rises so high up that it can be seen from 50 kilometres away: an incredible spectacle of the raw power of nature.

There’s more to Victoria Falls than ticking off this bucket list sight though: it’s also Africa’s adrenaline capital. On both the Zambian and Zimbabwean sides of the border, adventure seekers will find extreme thrills in white-water rafting, river boarding, jet boating, bungee jumping, abseiling, zip lining, microlighting above the falls and gorge swinging, while more sedate experiences such as riding an old steam train and drinking gin and tonics on sunset boat cruises are perennial crowd pleasers. That’s not to mention the safari activities and animal experiences such as tracking white rhinos on foot and canoeing trips on the Upper Zambezi to spot elephants and birds. The magic of Victoria Falls is that it’s a destination for just about anyone: solo travellers, families with kids, adventurers and romantic couples will all find more than enough memorable experiences in a visit of even just a few days.

One of the main questions that people ask when planning a trip to Victoria Falls is where to base themselves. The Zimbabwean and Zambian sides both have towns close to the falls that are geared up for tourism, with a huge choice of hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, bars and activity operators. Each side of the border has quite different views of the falls (with the majority of the falls on the Zimbabwean end), and while many of the same activities are on offer on both sides, some experiences, such as bungee-jumping and ziplining through a treetop canopy can only be done on one or other side of the border. It’s important to know that the waterfall dries up on the Zambian side at the end of the dry season (in October or November), so if you’re travelling during this time it makes sense to stay in Zimbabwe. But otherwise, our recommendation would be to choose one side to stay at and visit the other on an easy day trip.