Victoria Falls

The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya (“the smoke that thunders in the language of the local Kololo tribe”) is one of the seven natural wonders of the world – and not to be missed when visiting Zambia!

While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is claimed to be the largest. This is based on a width of 1,708 metres (5,600 ft) and height of 108 meters (360 ft), forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world.

The falls are formed as the full width of the Zambezi River plummets in a single vertical drop into a transverse gorge carved by its waters along a fracture zone in the basalt plateau. The Victoria Falls are a spectacular sight of awe-inspiring beauty and grandeur. Columns of spray can be seen from miles away as 546 million cubic meters of water per minute crash over the edge (at the height of the flood season). The wide basalt cliff, over which the falls rumble like thunder, transforms the Zambezi from a wide placid river to a ferocious torrent cutting through a series of dramatic gorges.