Know before you go
The facts, the history and the practical advice that makes a first visit to Mosi-oa-Tunya easier — whether you are planning a trip or writing about one you have just taken.
108 m
Greatest drop
1,708 m
Width of the curtain
Mosi-oa-Tunya
The local name
1855
First seen by Livingstone
1989
UNESCO World Heritage
4th
Longest river in Africa
Victoria Falls is where the Zambezi, Africa's fourth-longest river, drops over a basalt lip a little under two kilometres wide and turns into the Batoka Gorge. The Zimbabwean town of Victoria Falls sits on the southern bank, Livingstone and its national park on the northern bank in Zambia. The local name is Mosi-oa-Tunya, the smoke that thunders, and on a good day in high water you will understand why before you see anything at all.
From a place known to the communities who lived beside it, to a railway stop and finally a World Heritage Site shared by two countries.
Long before
Tonga communities living along the river knew the falls as Mosi-oa-Tunya, the smoke that thunders, and treated the permanently wet rainforest as a place of rain in the dry season.
1855
David Livingstone canoed to an island on the lip of the falls, now Livingstone Island, and became the first European known to see them. He named them after Queen Victoria.
1905
The Victoria Falls Bridge opened across the gorge for the railway, part of Cecil Rhodes' vision of a line running the length of the continent. It turned a remote waterfall into a destination.
1989
UNESCO listed the falls and the surrounding protected areas for their geological and ecological value, recognising the site under both its local and colonial names.
Today
Zambia and Zimbabwe each look onto the same curtain, and visitors cross the bridge between them in a morning. The gorge downstream now carries rafting, zip lines and the bridge swing.
Victoria Falls looks and sounds different in every season. Which months you visit decides what you see and which activities run.
roughly February to May
At its loudest. The whole curtain runs, spray climbs hundreds of metres and the rainforest path turns into a warm shower.
Spray can hide the curtain from the closest viewpoints and soak you and your camera within minutes. Rafting below the falls usually stops for the season.
roughly June to September
Cooler, clearer and easier. The spray thins enough to see the rock face, the river and the gorge behind it.
Mornings and evenings are cool enough for a layer, and the best viewpoints get busy mid-morning.
roughly September to December
The river splits into channels and large stretches of rock appear at the lip where water poured over a few months earlier.
October and early November are the hottest weeks of the year. Some activities wind down as the season turns, so check before booking.
The falls sit between two border posts, so a little planning on the day makes the difference.
Cash still matters here, and small notes matter most.
The climate is the thing most visitors underestimate.
Victoria Falls works because visitors and residents look after it together.
Members here plan trips out loud, and the practical pages cover the rest of it: what to pack, what to watch out for, and what is on while you are in town.