Victoria Falls – an African wonder

On the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia is one of Africa’s most spectacular sights: Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the world, and it is an amazing experience to stand and look out over the volumes of water cascading over the edge, down into the deep Batoka Gorge.

One thing is for sure: a visit to Victoria Falls is something you will never forget!

Mosi-oa-Tunya

Back in 1855, Scottish missionary and explorer, David Livingstone, was on an expedition in Africa to explore the magnificent Zambezi River. Through the local tribes, he heard of Mosi-oa-Tunya – the smoke that thunders.

With the help of the locals, Livingstone sailed up the Zambezi until he saw some impressive water vapour clouds in the distance. The clouds resembled smoke rising from the ground, and even from afar, it sounded like thunder.

When Livingstone finally reached the destination, he was overwhelmed by the sight of the beautiful waterfall. He named it Victoria Falls after the then queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and made history as the first European to witness this marvel.

Enormous volumes of water

Victoria Falls is neither the world’s tallest nor widest waterfall. But the height of the waterfall of approx. 108 metres and its 1,700-metre width make it the world’s largest falling “curtain” of water.

Every second, more than 1 million litres of water spill over the edge, landing around 108 metres further down in Batoka Gorge, where the river flows on in a stunningly distinctive zigzag pattern.

The border between Zimbabwe and Zambia is roughly in the middle of the waterfall, so the western section is in Zimbabwe, while the eastern section is in Zambia.

Today, Victoria Falls is one of the most visited sights in all of Africa, and it’s not hard to see why!

One of the seven natural wonders of the world

The combination of the sound, the sight, the heat and the humidity is what makes Victoria Falls such an overwhelming experience.

In 2008, the huge waterfall was named one of the seven natural wonders of the world, on an equal footing with the Grand Canyon in the United States and Mount Everest in Nepal.

The large volumes of water that constantly flow over the cliff edge create a lot of water vapour clouds that hang in the air. Besides providing uninterrupted rainfall over the surrounding rainforest, the water vapour clouds also help create the most stunning of rainbows over the waterfall. As long as there is sun in the sky, you are almost guaranteed to see the beautiful sight of colourful rainbows.

On evenings with a full moon, you may be lucky enough to see a moonbow, a unique phenomenon where the sun’s rays are reflected on the moon, forming rainbows in the dark.

Nothing beats the overwhelming feeling you get when you witness nature as spectacular as Victoria Falls. The impressive size and power of the waterfall really put your own size and the forces of nature into perspective.

Victoria Falls will be an experience of a lifetime!

TourCompass – From tourist to traveller